mml 




|Y OF CONGRESS 



A FEW MONTHS IN THE EAST. 



A FEW MONTHS IN THE EAST; 

OR, 

A GLIMPSE 

OF 

THE RED, THE DEAD, AND THE BLACK 

SEAS. 

BY A CANADIAN. 



Prov., Cap. xiii, v. 19. 



(fhnzbu: 




PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. ANN STREET. 

AND FOR SALE BY 

SAMPSON> LOW, SON & CO., 47, LUDGATE HILL, LONDON, 

1861, 



DEDICATION. 



TO THE EIGHT REVEREND 

Gr. J. MOUNTAIN, D.D., 

lord bishop of quebec, 

My Lord: 

The very kind notice which you were pleased to take of 
the letters transmitted by me, from the Holy Land, to different 
members of my family, is one of the chief causes that induce me 
to preserve and enlarge the hurried notes, marked down on the 
spot, during portions of my recent tour to the interesting regions 
of the East. 

Similar reasons may now, I hope, be pleaded, together with a 
desire of influencing others to take the same route, for appearing 
before the public. 

It will thus be seen, that your Lordship is, to a certain extent, 
responsible for the rashness which has prompted the publication of 
the following pages ; for certainly had it not been for your kind 
expressions of approbation, and the favorable encouragement of 
indulgent friends, I scarcely would have revised or expanded my 
rough notes for a wider circulation. 

I beg to thank your Lordship for the convincing proof, which 
you have afforded, of the sincerity of your friendly sentiments in 
permitting me to dedicate the result of my efforts to one, who is 
as much distinguished for his extensive scholarship and literary 
attainments, as he is esteemed for his piety, and for the zeal which 
he has always evinced for the interests of the Church in British 
North America. 

I have the honor to be, 

Your Lordship's obedient Servant, 

J. BELL FORSYTH, 

Quebec, May, 1861. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE. 

Preface . . . xi 

CHAPTER t 

Reasons for Publishing. — Some Details of the Voyage from 
Portland to England, in the " Hungarian,' ■ — and thence 
to Gibraltar . . • . . . . • 1 

CHAPTER IL 
Gibraltar 11 

CHAPTER III. 
Malta 23 

CHAPTER IV. 
Egypt — Alexandria — Suez 29 

CHAPTER V. 



The Atlantic and Pacific Railway, vs. The Overland Route. 41 



Vlll 



PAGE 



CHAPTEE VI. 

Return to Cairo— The Pyramids 51 

CIJAPTEjl VIL 

From Jaffa to Jerusalem 65 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Jerusalem and Vicinity — Jericho and the Dead Sea . . 83 

CHAPTER IX. 

Mount Zion — Hebron — Easter-day in Jerusalem — Mosques 
of Omar and El-Aksa 97 

CHAPTER X. 

Departure from Jerusalem. — Jaffa — Bey rout — Tripoli — 
Alexandrette 109 

CHAPTER XL 
Smyrna — Constantinople 125 



CHAPTER XII. 
Departure from Constantinople, and Return to England . 141 



ix 



PAGE. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Review in Edinburgh — Lakes of Cumberland — Return to 
Canada 157 

APPENDIX. 

Pacific Railroad 169 



> 



PREFACE. 



The following pages have been prepared at 
different intervals, in the active pursuit of 
mercantile occupations, from hurried notes 
taken on the spot, and from letters penned 
to members of my family when I was travel- 
ling in the East. 

They are not intended to supply the infor- 
mation usually sought for in ordinary Hand- 
books, but, as I have elsewhere remarked, to 
shew how so much ground can be gone over, 
and how so many interesting places may be 
visited, during a short period of relaxation, 
even by overwrought men of business; and 



Xll 

all this, with instruction to the mind and im- 
proved health to the body. 

This is a point which I am particularly 
anxious the candid reader should keep con- 
stantly in view. I so thoroughly enjoyed the 
trip and derived such benefit from it, that the 
primary and ultimate object of publishing 
this brief outline of my movements, and of 
the impressions of the scenes visited, is to 
induce my many friends in Canada and other 
parts of British North America, similarly 
circumstanced, to try the effect of a like 
expedition. 

Although I readily acquiesced with many 
other pilgrims to Palestine, that the Bible is 
the best hand-book to the Holy Land, and 
preferred visiting the interesting scenes with- 
out any other ; yet I have since perused, with 
great satisfaction and pleasure, " Murray 's 
Hand-book to Syria/' a most complete and 
delightful work of the kind, composed by the 



Xlll 

Rev. J. L. Porter, with, the pen of a Christian, 
a scholar and a gentleman : it is a book which 
ought to be in every one's library. 

To more than one kind friend I am greatly 
indebted for several corrections and valuable 
suggestions ; and, at their recommendation, I 
have omitted or abridged much which might 
have pleased my immediate and personal 
friends, but could not have interested the 
general reader. 

The lithographs have been executed in 
Montreal by Mr. Little of JN"otre-Dame street, 
and speak for themselves ; they are taken 
from drawings (the one of Jerusalem excepted) 
which have never been published, and were 
presented by kind friends. 

To Mr. Sloane, the intelligent Superin- 
tendent of Mr. Lovell's office, I am much 
indebted for many valuable hints ; and the 
book being altogether a Canadian publica- 



xiv 

tion, I rely with confidence on the kindness 
and candour of all who may peruse it. 

I hope, also, that I may be excused for my 
digression, at the Isthmus of Suez, on the 
subject of a "Western route to Asia: the topic 
has always been an especial favorite of mine, 
and the occasion was too captivating to be 
resisted. I have thrown into an Appendix 
some details, contained in a speech delivered 
at the public dinner given to Lord Bury, 
some few years ago, on the occasion of his 
visit to Quebec. 



PAGE. 

JERUSALEM. — Frontispiece. 

GIBRALTAR, 11 

THE SPHINX 56 

TOMBS OF THE CALIPHS, 58 



CHAPTER I. 



REASONS FOR PUBLISHING. SOME DETAILS OF THE 

YOYAGE FROM PORTLAND TO ENGLAND, IN THE 
{ 1 HUNGARIAN, J J AND THENCE TO GIBRALTAR. 

When I left Quebec about the middle of January, 
last year, for the purpose of revisiting Europe, and 
subsequently prosecuting my wanderings eastward, 
no idea could be more remote from my mind than 
that of publishing an account of my proceedings. 

A trip to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, 
and to view those sacred and time-hallowed scenes, 
where so many events of deep interest have occurred 
blended with the destinies of mankind, had formed, 
from early years, one of the most warmly- cherished 
wishes of my heart ; and it was with no slight degree 
of satisfaction that I found myself enabled to gratify 
this desire. 

B 



2 



It has been already hinted, in the dedication, that 
one, in fact, nearly the sole motive for the publication 
of these few pages, is to set before others the com- 
parative ease and moderate expenditure, with which a 
trip to the East may be accomplished ; and to induce, 
perhaps, many in these Provinces to take advantage 
of any similar period of leisure. The following hasty 
sketches have, therefore, been reproduced at the 
suggestion of several of my friends, who expressed 
themselves gratified by the perusal of the original 
correspondence, addressed to members of my own 
family. 

These notes of travel, issuing from a Canadian 
press, are more especially intended for circulation in 
these Provinces ; an indulgent reception may, there- 
fore, be reasonably anticipated from the Canadian 
public, inasmuch as I write as a Canadian, in the 
hope of encouraging others of my fellow-countrymen 
to follow my example in visiting the same interesting 
portion of the world. Such an undertaking can 
hardly be carried out, in the most indifferent manner, 
without opening the mind and enlarging our estimate 
of the advantages of liberal government and constitu- 
tional polity. By such a tour, souvenirs of undying 
interest may be awakened in the heart, and extend 
an important influence over the future course of the 
traveller ; for I certainly realized the saying of the 



8 



Hebrew monarch, according to the motto placed on 
the title-page, " The desire accomplished is sweet to 
the soul." 

In the month of January, I proceeded by railway 
from Quebec to Portland, attended by my two 
daughters, and accompanied, as far as the latter place, 
by my son and his wife, and my kind friend, Colonel 
Rhodes. We embarked on board the ocean steamship 
46 Hungarian," one of the most powerful and excellent 
of the Canadian Line ; and the voyage, on which we 
entered, was fated to be the last she made in safety. 

Voyages from the American continent to England 
during winter are generally very rapid ; north and 
north-westerly winds usually prevail and blow in 
frequent gales. I have repeatedly crossed the Atlan- 
tic in December and January, but I do not remember 
having ever experienced such terrific weather as on 
this voyage. When we approached the Irish coast, 
the north-wester, which had been driving us so 
fiercely as to prevent a stitch of canvas being shewn, 
compelled us to lay to ; for, although under very 
little steam, we were carried along at the rate of 
about fourteen knots an hour, and had shipped some 
very heavy seas. By one of these, considerable 
damage was done to the wheel-house, a boat was 
carried away, and the bulwarks were greatly injured; 

b 2 



4 



the water dashed through the pantry, sweeping off . 
with it plates, dishes, covers and crockery of every 
kind, — smashed the lamps in the cabin, and flooded 
it with water. 

It was very impressive to hear the dead, rumbling 
noise of the body of water, as it poured down the 
gangways, and covered the floors of our cabins to the 
depth of one or two feet. Such confidence, however, 
had we in the strength of the vessel, that we felt 
little uneasiness ; and when I ascertained that my 
daughters were not seriously alarmed, I became still 
more at ease, and looked to see what was to be done 
in my own cabin. Trunks, carpet-bags and hat- 
boxes were moving about in the water ; I jumped 
up and secured them, as well as I could, and on the 
whole was no great sufferer ; but my friends, Symes 
and Roberts, were not so fortunate, — the former espe- 
cially, as every thing he had was injured or ruined. 
After three or four hours incessant bailing, in which 
nearly all the passengers assisted, the water was got 
rid of, and the floors were wiped tolerably dry. 

During this dreadful night, our gallant commander, 
Captain Jones, and Mr. Nash, the lieutenant in 
charge of the mails, were heard speaking aloud and 
cheerfully ; their words and the sound of their voices 
tended to dispel fear, and imparted courage to all 



5 



The violence of the storm abated next morning, and 
the vessel's head was again turned towards Cape 
Clear. It cannot be out of place here to mention 
that the steamer " Scamander" foundered, during the 
same gale, in the Bay of Biscay, and that many other 
casualties occurred, although the storm did not reach 
the coast. 

The appearance of the saloon, at other times so 
gay and comfortable, was certainly, on that eventful 
morning, most wretched. I remember well that, as 
I walked with Captain Jones on the deck, in the 
course of the afternoon, he pointed out to me a 
board, which had been left from the boat washed 
away in the night. This board had the name of the 
steamer upon it, and he rather exultingly remarked, 
that, if the boat were picked up, no one would be 
able to tell that it belonged to the " Hungarian." 
Little did he think, poor fellow, that during her next 
voyage, the gallant ship would disappear with himself 
and every soul on board, without leaving a vestige 
behind except the boats which were washed ashore. 

We called at Queenstown, but remained only long 
enough to land the mails. Proceeding to our port of 
destination, we arrived in Liverpool on the thirteenth 
morning after our departure from Portland ; — and I 
was soon comfortably settled, with my daughters^ 



6 



under the hospitable roof of my kind friend, Mr. 
Saunders, of Fullwood, where we soon forgot the 
discomforts of the sea in the right-hearty welcome 
which we received from our host and all his house- 
hold. 

It is apart from my present purpose to enter into 
any details connected with my sojourn in England. 
It may suffice to say that, after passing a few weeks 
with my sister, at Fritwell, Oxfordshire, I engaged a 
passage in the "Delta," one of the Peninsular and 
Oriental Company's steamships (or the P. and , as 
they are always called), and sailed from Southampton 
in February. I was unaccompanied by any friend ; 
and although, on starting, my position seemed sad 
and lonely, yet 1 am not certain whether it may not 
be, on the whole, the best way of travelling. In 
many instances, where several or even two or three 
persons travel together, differences of opinion and 
consequent circumstances of annoyance will arise ; — 
one may wish to remain only one day at a certain 
place, while another wishes to prolong his visit. 
Unless, therefore, a traveller can obtain a friend, 
who is prepared to proceed with him without hesita- 
tion, like an "alter ego" it is better to run the 
chance of falling in with companions, here and there 
on the way, than to bind one's self down to those, 



7 



who, from difference of taste or inequality of temper 
and spirits, may make the journey disagreeable, and 
mar the chief object in view, of which, in fact, I saw 
many instances. 

I fortunately soon discovered among the passengers 
my old friend Butts, who had lately exchanged from 
the Canadian Rifles into the Buffs, then at Malta ; 
and I at once found myself no longer an out-sider, 
as he knew many on board, and gladly introduced 
me. At length, we were on the move, and passed 
close to the "Great Eastern;" but so great a gale 
began, as we proceeded on our way to the Channel, 
that we were glad to anchor at the Needles. 

Next morning we ventured out, but the gale con- 
tinued, and Captain Black deemed it prudent to 
make for Portland, where we remained twenty-four 
hours ; and we could hardly regret the opportunity 
which we thus enjoyed of estimating the value of 
the works now in progress at this important point. 
These, when completed, will make Portland, in Eng- 
land, as secure a harbour by art, as its namesake 
in the new world is by nature. The fortifications 
will certainly be exceedingly effective ; and there can 
be little doubt that this harbour will become, in the 
course of a few years, one of the most important in 
the kingdom. 



8 



On the following morning, the sea was so smooth 
that it was difficult to imagine how so great a change 
could be effected in so short a space of time. We 
accordingly proceeded on our voyage with improved 
spirits, and under more favorable prospects. 

We had on board the " Delta" about one hundred 
and twenty passengers ; — nearly one-half of these 
were lads, fresh from Addiscombe, or other schools 
and colleges, on their way to India. On viewing 
their ruddy and healthy looks, and witnessing their 
buoyant spirits and ardent anticipations, it was impos- 
sible to forbear from reflecting how soon their rude 
health and sound northern constitutions might be 
shattered from the enervating effects of a tropical cli- 
mate, and the debilitating nature and customs of the 
country to which they were bound. 

The other half of the passengers consisted of 
officers, on their way to Gibraltar and Malta, or of 
gentlemen who travelled in search of health, amuse- 
ment or instruction. Of the latter, there was one 
between whom and myself was soon established a sort 
of freemasonry, though neither of us belonged to the 
craft ; but our feelings and tastes were congenial. 
He was greatly crushed in spirit, and was on his 
way to the East, seeking to soothe, by travel and 
change of scene, feelings which had been, he said, 



9 



painfully excited. I pointed out to him the following 
remarks, by the author of Eothen : " Strange that so 
" many should go annually to the East, for change of 
" scene, occasioned by occurrences such as this ; but 
" I think there is something so seductive in visiting 
" Palestine, that I do not wonder at one's trying there, 
u if treading the land, so memorable in the world's 
" annals, were a sovereign cure to the mind diseased ; 
" though, in many cases, the cure may be but tem- 
" porary, and end with the excitement." 

My friend admitted that the cause of his journey 
was exactly similar ; but, he said, he had never seen 
Kinglake's talented work, and was surprised his own 
case should have been so graphically described. 

Many, like myself, were travelling for relaxation 
and amusement ; altogether the company was very 
agreeable, and the successive days of the voyage 
passed rapidly away. The Bay of Biscay was (which 
it seldom is in February) in its blandest mood ; and 
so unruffled was its surface, that a bark-canoe might 
have glided over it. We soon found ourselves within 
sight of land, passed Cintra at no great distance, and 
had an excellent view of the Rock of Lisbon and the 
mouth of the Tagus ; but the whole extent of the 
coast of Portugal is classic ground. Cape St. Yincent 
and the Bay of Trafalgar excited emotions of no 



10 



ordinary nature ; nor was it possible with indifferent 
feelings to pass places, the names of which have been 
familiar to our most interesting historical associations. 

It now began to blow a strong Levanter ; and as 
this wind had prevailed for several days, we did not 
meet with as many vessels as we otherwise would 
have done. The war between the Spaniards and 
Moors was then at its height; but all the vessels of 
the former, which, with the transports, made a large 
fleet, were in the Bay of Gibraltar, under the guns 
of Algeziras. 

Seven days had elapsed, since we left Southampton, 
when we dropped anchor ; and the first stage of my 
progress from England to the East was over. 

We had reached the far-famed Pillars of Hercules. 



CHAPTER II. 



GIBKALTAK. 

We were all on deck early next morning, and, 
although the weather was dull and rainy, every one 
was cheerful and buoyant with expectation. 

As I gazed on the stronghold before us, — the 
south-western gate of Spain, and the key of the 
Mediterranean, — I was, in many respects, forcibly 
reminded of our own good city, Quebec. Gibraltar, 
it is true, is four times higher than Cape Diamond ; 
but the importance of their site is similar, the rock 
of either equally abrupt, each commanding views of 
the greatest beauty and magnificence. The scenery 
surrounding Quebec, as viewed from the Grand Bat- 
tery, the Durham Terrace, and other such points, is 
familiar to most of my Canadian readers. 

At oribraltar, the coast of Spain, with the towns 
of San Roque and Algeziras, is close at hand ; while 



12 



in the distance, the shores of Africa, with the Atlantic 
on the one side, and the blue waters of the Mediter- 
ranean on the other, make up the picture, and a 
lovely one it is ; for in the Bay, at your feet, are the 
fleets of England and Spain — the war between the 
latter and Morocco being then actively carried on ; 
there were also several men-of-war belonging to 
France, Austria, and the United States. 

The Levanter, mentioned in the previous chapter, 
had been blowing for weeks ; and had detained in the 
Bay, under the guns of Algeziras, upwards of a 
hundred vessels, principally transports, temporarily 
in the service of Spain, and all about to proceed, on 
the first change of wind, in the operations against 
Tangier, — Tetuan having been taken a short time 
previous to our arrival. 

Boats without number were alongside of the "Delta" 
at break of day, and, the sea being very rough, we 
had to tack about for three-quarters of an hour before 
we landed at the market-place ; and when we did 
land, what a Babel met our ears ! Soldiers and 
sailors, muleteers and water-carriers ; Arabs, with their 
unmistakeable physiognomy ; Moors, with their well- 
developed forms, snow-white turbans, jabadores of 
scarlet cloth, white undergarments, and bedeyas rich 
with gold — wrapped in their national plaid, the haik, 



13 



held in much esteem by them from the earliest period 
of their history ; a few of their (the Moors') ancient 
opponents, Spanish soldiers, in uniform ; and Jews 
innumerable, who had fled from Morocco on account 
of the barbarous treatment several of their number 
had received from the Mohammedans. Everything 
seemed so novel, that you at once felt you had, in 
reality, entered the portals of the East. 

Nearly all the Jews I met here had fled — terror- 
stricken-— from their homes. They embarked at 
the different Moorish ports in hundreds, abandoning 
everything they possessed, and arrived at Gibraltar 
in a state of utter destitution. Many young women 
and children, among the fugitives, had no other 
shelter than the canopy of heaven, and numbers had 
not even food to eat. His Excellency Sir William 
Codrington headed the Christian community in their 
charitable efforts, actively aided by a Committee of 
the Jewish residents, formed for the purpose of afford- 
ing relief to their unfortunate brethren. His Excel- 
lency caused tents to be erected on the parade-ground, 
for their accommodation, and bread and meat to be 
distributed among the necessitous, who numbered 
nearly two thousand. Sir William and Lady Cod- 
rington's sympathy with these destitute sufferers was 
beyond all praise, and will ever endear them to this 
scattered race. 



14 

I have no wish or intention to give particular des« 
eriptions of the places I have visited, which are 
accurately detailed in Murray and Bradshaw's hand- 
books ; my object, in fact, in extending my rough 
notes, is to show Canadians how much may be 
achieved in a limited period, and at a time when so 
many can leave the Province without great incon- 
venience. From January to May will suffice, and 
from thirty to forty shillings a-day will enable one to 
travel as a first-class passenger. Steamboat fares in 
the Mediterranean are very high ; and, as an instance, 
I nay mention, I paid twenty pounds from Constan- 
tinople to Marseilles, embracing some five or six 
days. 

Tt is Shenstone, I believe, who makes an observa- 
tion, in verse, which I have seen often quoted : — 

" Whoe'er has travelled life's dull round. 
Where'er his stages may have been ? 
May sigh to think, he oft has found 
The warmest welcome at an Inn." 

Mow, I allude to this, not to complain of my recep- 
tion any where, but to show the difference between 
min^ host in England and in the East, or on the 
Continent, where a traveller arrives and is allowed to 
dn>art with the utmost indifference* 

In Gibraltar I found things, in this respect, much 
worse than any where else. The Club House was 



15 

full; and (with great difficulty) I succeeded in obtain- 
ing a miserable bed-room in the next best hotel, where 
every thing looked so uncomfortable, that I antici- 
pated my week at the " Rock" would be the reverse 
of pleasant The garrison was very numerous,, con- 
sisting of six or seven thousand men, with a large 
portion of Artillery. I soon found my way to the 
quarters of the 100th, and dined at mess with the 
officers, — ^Canada being of course the chief subject of 
conversation. 

On my return to the hotel (tavern would be a 
more appropriate name), I found a most kind and 
pressing invitation from His Excellency Sir William 
Codrington, to take up my quarters forthwith " at 
the Convent," — the name given to the residence of the 
Governor, or rather the name that has never changed 
since it was the abode of the religious recluse in 
days long gone bye. — One night at the hotel had 
been one of such misery, that I was but too glad to 
accept the proffered kindness ; and the removal from 
such a place to the residence of the Governor was as 
delightful as alighting on an oasis in the desert must 
be to the wearied traveller. 

In the rear of the Government House there is a 
handsome quadrangular court, full of orange and 
citron trees with flowering shrubs ; there were,, also^ 



16 



some very beautiful pepper trees, which I had never 
before seen, and which were not unlike the acacia. 
With rooms opening into the court on one side, 
and with a large and beautiful garden on the other, 
I found myself most agreeably domiciled, while the 
hospitable kindness of Sir William and Lady Cod- 
rington made me feel quite at home. They had been 
stationed in former years in Quebec, and they made me 
at once feel as if I were among Canadian friends. 

The fortifications, I need hardly say, are as strong 
as art and nature can combine to make them. A 
walk through the galleries, bristling with cannon, 
presents such an imposing sight as one can hardly 
have an opportunity of seeing in any other fortified 
place. The galleries are large roads or passages, cut in 
a zig-zag form in the solid rock, with apertures every 
here and there, large enough to admit the planting 
of cannon ; such indeed, in my opinion, are the 
strength and security of the works, that not even 
rifled cannon could be brought to bear with any 
marked impression. Famine alone can, I think, ever 
remove the meteor flag of England from this great 
stronghold, which the authorities at home are annu- 
ally strengthening, and seem to know well its value ; 
although there are political economists who would 
hand it over to Spain to-morrow, alleging that the 



17 



cost of maintenance and fortification is more than it 
is worth. 

The agreeabieness of my brief sojourn in Gibraltar 
was much enhanced by the kind attentions of Colonel 
Maberly of the Artillery, Col. Fane of the 25th, and 
Mr. Carpenter of the Commissariat, who had been 
many years in Quebec ; and also, by Col. Dunn and 
by the officers of the 100th Regiment, who gave me 
a most cordial welcome. Their Colonel, the Baron de 
Rottenburgh, was even kind enough to order the 
Regiment to parade, so that I might be a witness of 
their proficiency, and report well of them on my 
return to Canada ; and assuredly a more soldierly- 
looking set of men I have seldom seen. 

It is well-known that almost every man in the 100th 
is either a native of Canada, or has been a resident in 
the Province ; and when they were raised, in 1858, 
it was generally believed that the regiment would at 
once join the army in India ; but, after a year or two 
in England, peace came, — and many who were all 
anxiety to see active service, and "seek the bubble 
reputation even in the cannon's mouth," now regret 
that they are doomed to dull routine in a Garrison 
town. When the regiment was raised, a general 
opinion prevailed in Canada, that the Provincial 
Legislature would have conferred some testimonial, 

o 



18 



some special grant or mark of distinction on this 
regiment, for the purpose of keeping alive the cher- 
ished associations originally subsisting between the 
men and this important portion of the empire, where 
it was formed. But, through some cause or other, 
nothing has yet been done. Measures have however 
lately been taken to give the Canadian public an 
opportunity of promoting this laudable object ; and 
I shall, indeed, feel gratified if my casual visit to 
Gibraltar should prove the means of accelerating the 
completion of an act of but bare justice. 

A handsome piece of plate for the mess, something 
for that of the non-commissioned officers, and a 
library for the men, might be procured by an easy 
effort in either section of the Province. If a library 
should be at variance with the regulations of the 
army, the half of the money collected might be 
funded, and the interest expended in the purchase of 
periodicals, newspapers, cricket-balls, &c, &c. In- 
deed ? I am strongly inclined to believe that an annual 
amount, so applied, would be better calculated to 
keep alive, for years and years, the kindred ties and 
associations, which should ever exist between the 
regiment and Canada. 

The presentation of a large library, all at once, 
may be accompanied by several disadvantages, The 



19 



books are soon worn out and disfigured by constant 
use, and a considerable expense entailed in its removal 
from station to station ; indeed, the larger it might 
become, the greater would this difficulty be felt. 

The military authorities very properly have estab- 
lished a recruiting party in the Province ; and such 
is the love of adventure, and the desire to see foreign 
parts, that there is no difficulty in getting men, who 
prefer sixpence a-day, with the chance of seeing the 
world, to four or five shillings daily wages for ordinary 
or farm labour ; and it must not be forgotten, how- 
ever, that the term of military service being now 
limited, the soldier's life is far less hopeless than it 
was many years ago. 

" Gib.," as military men usually call it, seems, on 
the whole, a favorite station ; though I heard a good 
deal of ennui being a prevalent complaint. There 
is very little general society, apart from the military ; 
and rides in the country are confined to the cork- 
woods, and a few Spanish towns in the immediate 
neighbourhood. There is, however, a pack of hounds 
kept up ; and, while I was there, the theatre was 
open, the company consisting of a party of Zouaves, 
who had been in the Crimea. 

One favorite piece was u A Surprise by the Eussians 
on the Corps Dramatique." This was the representa* 

c2 



20 



tion of an occurrence, which actually took place in 
the midst of some fine acting, and had been attended 
with the loss of life. Some of the Zouaves were 
attired as ladies, with a profusion of crinoline ; and 
were compelled, in the midst of a most touching 
scene, to throw aside their flaming red-petticoats, 
and seize their muskets, — the effect of which was 
very laughable, though no joke at the time. The 
house was poorly attended ; the taste for theatricals 
being as dull at Gibraltar as in any other part of 
the English world. A great change has taken place 
certainly, in this respect, since the days of good 
Queen Bess ; late dinner-hours have had much to 
do, I suspect, in effecting this state of things — more, 
in fact, than many would be willing to allow. 

The streets in Gibraltar, — or I should rather say 
the street, — is very narrow ; but, at all hours of the 
day, it is full of people. The gardens, walks and drives, 
between the Almeida and Europa Point, are very 
beautiful, and produce on the stranger the most de- 
lightful impression of the far-famed Mountain of 
Tarik. The name of Gibraltar is well-known to be a 
corruption of Jebel-Tarik, the Arabic conqueror of 
that part of Spain. 

It was not one of the least interesting circum- 
stances attending my brief stay, that I should be 



21 



lodged in the very house in which the brave old 
General Elliott resided during the memorable siege, 
which he so gallantly and successfully maintained 
against the floating batteries of Spain, In the dining- 
room, his portrait and those of many of his com- 
panions in arms are to be seen, in the quaint, old 
style of the last century. 

When in the East, I was particularly fortunate in 
point of weather, having experienced but two wet 
days, — one at Gibraltar, which enabled me to read 
Drinkwater's account of the siege, for he was there all 
the time and kept a regular journal daily. Although 
a little too minute, I found its perusal particularly 
attractive, having at the time every spot in view. 

After a week's most pleasant residence, I bade 
adieu to Gibraltar ; and as Sir William was kind 
enough to accompany me on board the "Ripon," 
and introduce me to Captain Christian, I was soon as 
much at home, among the passengers, as my fortunate 
meeting with Butts made me in the "Delta f and 
the following day, I found a distant connexion of my 
own on board, and Mr. and Mrs, Gordon, of Charles- 
ton, near neighbours of my sisters in Scotland. 



CHAPTER III. 



MALTA, 

Sunday morning found us on the blue waters of the 
Mediterranean ; and, about noon, we had a very- 
beautiful view of the lofty mountain range of Anda- 
lusia, the Sierra Nevada, some of the peaks of which 
are upwards of twelve or thirteen thousand feet high, 
and are covered with perpetual snow. 

We sailed along the coast of Algeria, and passed 
the site of ancient Carthage, at a great distance, 
however. On the third day we had a close view of 
Pantellaria, the island prison of Naples for political 
offenders ; and it is not difficult to conceive the de- 
light, which must have pervaded this isolated spot, 
when the intelligence of Garibaldi's exploits an- 
nounced that the prison-doors would soon be open. 

We reached Malta on Thursday ; the great strength 
of which and its commanding position in the Medi- 



24 



terranean have made its possession of importance to 
its many successive masters — -the Phoenicians, Greeks, 
Carthaginians, Romans, Goths, Saracens, Knights of 
Malta, and, last of all, the British, who are thus 
enabled to maintain an ascendancy over "the glad 
waters of the dark-blue sea." 

The Reverend Mr. Murray, of Jersey, who had 
taken his passage for Malta, for the benefit of his 
health, was induced by me to be my companion for 
Palestine ; and to his great biblical learning and 
general intelligence I am indebted for much informa- 
tion, and many valuable hints, which might otherwise 
have escaped my observation. 

We landed very early in the morning ; and before 
breakfasting at Durnford's Hotel (a most excellent 
one), we visited the fortifications, and the far-famed 
Church of St. John, in which are separate chapels 
for each language of the Knights Hospitallers. 

The church, as a whole, is certainly a grand edifice ; 
although the fagade is inferior in beauty to what I 
had anticipated, and a certain degree of heaviness 
pervades the whole building. The graves of the 
Knights are under the pavement of the church, and 
many of them are covered with rich mosaics, in 
marble, jasper and agate. Although the Temple 
Church in London, is far inferior in size, I much pre- 



25 



fer it, and it has always been an especial favorite 
with me ; it belonged, as every body knows, to the 
order of Knight Templars. 

We visited the Palace, the residence of the 
Governor, — a large structure without any preten- 
sions to architectural beauty. The interior, however, 
is interesting, especially the armoury — a very long 
apartment, full of all kinds of warlike implements, 
ancient and modern. Along the middle of the room, 
at regular distances, there are suits of armour, worn 
in different ages by the gallant knights, looking like 
so many soldiers on duty, and all wearing the badge 
of the famous order — the white cross on a red field. 

The edifices, however, which interested me most, 
were the various anberges : these were inns, or 
rather palaces, erected for different classes of the 
Hospitallers, according to their respective origin 
and languages ; and they are in appearance very 
magnificent structures. They had been, in fact, 
the " Clubs" of the Knights of Malta ; and little 
could their gallant founders have anticipated that, 
in this year of grace, they would be used as officers' 
quarters, mess-houses, printing offices, and private 
residences. 

The appearance of the town is very striking ; the 
main street, which is about the only one deserving 



26 



the name, is rather narrow ; but in it are many fine 
and noble buildings, with balustrades opening from 
the windows, and jutting out so as rather to disfigure 
the street. The town is very hilly, and flights of 
steep steps branch off the main street, with houses 
on either side. The population is very large, and 
the whole town presented a most oriental scene. 

We walked round the fortifications, and from the 
walls of Yaletta were much pleased with the view of 
the town and surrounding country ; although there 
was little verdure to enliven the latter, the whole 
surface, as far as the eye could reach, being nothing 
but rock, with endless terraces to keep the little 
earth from being washed away in the season of the 
heavy rains. 

The harbour, with its numerous creeks, is a very 
fine one, and certainly one of the safest in the world ; 
it is crowded with shipping of all kinds, from the 
proud man-of-war of seventy-four down to the Maltese 
skiff ; and, viewed from the glacis, it is a very lively 
picture. 

In one respect, I was particularly fortunate in my 
visit to the East, for everywhere I escaped quaran- 
tine, that bane of travelling ; and nowhere is it more 
galling to the traveller, when in force, than in Malta, 
which is densely populated, and where the dread of 



27 



contagion is consequently so great. If the report 
that the cholera has made its appearance in Gibraltar 
be correct, there is little doubt the different lazarettos, 
throughout the whole Mediterranean, will soon be 
crowded with impatient travellers. 

The Maltese are, generally speaking, a fine set of 
men, strong and robust, and not unlike our Indians ; 
and are generally allowed to be of Moorish extraction. 
The dress, both of men and women, is very becom- 
ing, even although the hoop has not yet made its 
appearance among the latter ; perhaps by the time 
it does, the oriental veil (the onnella), or head-dress 
derived therefrom, and for ages peculiar to Malta, 
may be seen adorning the heads of our ladies, in place 
of the ugly bonnet, now in vogue. 

Before leaving, we visited the Convent of the 
Capuchins, and, on descending to the vaults, were 
shown the withered remains of monks, who died long, 
long ago, and of others, who more recently have 
" shuffled off this mortal coil." These latter were in 
every stage of decay and decomposition, and were 
nailed up in niches in the walls, dressed in full 
canonicals, the faces only exposed to view, — a most 
revolting sight, and one I do not recommend others 
to look at ; although such is the morbid feeling in 
many, that this show will always prove an important 
source of revenue to the brotherhood. The monk, 



28 



who acted as our guide, pointed out, with no small 
degree of complacency, the niche intended for himself, 
when the King of Terrors would call him away. 

I was sorry that time did not permit my visiting 
St. Paul's Bay — the spot where the great Apostle of 
the Gentiles landed Many contend, from the word 
" Adria" in the 27th verse of the 27th chapter of the 
Acts of the Apostles, as well as from other reasons, 
that a small island in the Adriatic, is the Melita of 
the Acts ; but I think tradition, combined with 
arguments, even more forcible and with strong con- 
current testimony, proves Malta to have been the 
island on which the Apostle was wrecked. 

On the fourth day from Malta, we reached Alexan- 
dria, without the occurrence of anything remarkable. 
The approach to this old, and once so celebrated city, 
is very narrow and circuitous, but could easily be 
made straight ; yet, such is the dread of European 
powers, that the Turk deems it safer to leave the 
entrance a matter of difficulty, and one that could 
be easily made dangerous. Pompey's Pillar, in the 
distance, was long discernible before entering the 
harbour of this great entrepot. On passing the 
Pacha's steamship, we lowered our colours to the 
Crescent ; and, from the deck, the mosques and 
minarets told us that we had reached the East. 



CHAPTER IV. 



EGYPT — -ALEXANDRIA SUEZ. 

The steamer was soon surrounded by boats, full of 
most importunate boatmen. So great, in fact, was 
their anxiety to secure the luggage of the passengers, 
that they considered they had a right to it, and to 
insist on the owner taking a passage with the suc- 
cessful possessor of his goods and chattels. At length 
we were enabled to bid adieu to the " Ripon," and 
were soon landed at the custom-house wharf. 

Annoying as the squabbling of the boatmen un- 
doubtedly was, it was nothing to that with which we 
were assailed on stepping ashore. About two hundred 
squalid-looking wretches, dressed so sparingly that 
their tailors would not make a fortune, immediately 
began to fight for our baggage, although the whole 
only consisted of a dozen portmanteaux and carpet- 
bags, belonging to our party of three. However, we 



30 



contrived to work our way to the custom -house,, 
where our trunks were to be examined ; and, assur- 
edly, if Alexandria is behind the age in many things, 
it may boast of simplicity and intelligibility in the 
carrying out of its customs' regulations. "Master, 
you give me your keys, or you give me sixpence," 
was an appeal which we could easily understand ; and 
the demand was so moderate, that we were glad to 
avoid the delay which a search would have entailed. 

"Backsheesh" is the first word that greets the ear 
of a stranger, on his arrival in Egypt or Turkey, and 
the last that is heard on his departure ; in sooth, it is 
still tingling in my ears. It was now fiercely reiter- 
ated by the fellows who carried our luggage, but a 
shilling among the twelve sent them away rejoicing : 
indeed, it is scarcely credible what a man will do 
there for a penny. " Backsheesh" is demanded on 
every possible occasion, in every direction, and at 
every turning. It is not merely asked as alms (the 
literal meaning of the word), but it is sought or 
exacted, in a good-humoured way, as a legitimate 
present ; and travellers are too frequently apt to 
lose their temper at the pertinacity with which it 
is demanded. I asked a friend for the Arabic 
of " to-morrow," houcra, which I laughingly used, 
and thus easily escaped ; while some of my friends, 



31 



who answered peevishly or angrily, were assailed 
with fresh and unceasing importunity. 

On the arrival of a stranger in Alexandria, he 
cannot fail to be forcibly struck with the motley 
sights which first meet his eyes : — camels are seen, 
slowly wending their way along the narrow, dirty 
streets ; donkeys innumerable, almost the sole means 
of conveyance ; women, shuffling along, with their 
faces covered so as to leave the eyes only exposed ; 
Nubians, black as jet ; Copts and Arabs ; Turks, 
smoking their chibouques, and every man you meet 
in the streets with a cigar or cigarette in his mouth ; 
children, carried astride on their mothers' shoulders 
(no wonder the Arabs are good horsemen), with their 
little faces bare, and so covered with flies that the 
traveller no longer wonders at the prevalency of 
ophthalmia. 

After a short stay at the hotel, we proceeded to 
visit Pompey's • Pillar, which did not, in any respect, 
equal my expectation or pre-conceived ideas, founded 
on descriptions given in books. Cleopatra's Needle 
was the next object of inspection ; and it was evident, 
at first sight, that this celebrated column has been 
greatly damaged by exposure to the winds and 
weather. We afterwards went to the palace of the 
Pacha ; the building has an imposing appearance from 



32 

a distance, but, on a nearer approach, it is found 
(as everything else in this crumbling country) in 
a decayed and still further decaying condition. 

In the streets of this and all other cities of the 
East, women, except of the lower orders, are seldom 
met with. The dress of these consists merely of 
a blue linen shirt, and an upper garment of muslin 
thrown over the head. The face, with the exception 
of the eyes, is entirely concealed ; bat, in this 
respect, females of the higher class, when you do 
meet them, have introduced a marked change, for 
the muslin now worn is so thin, that the features are 
plainly discernible. Many women stain their lips 
a blue colour, and blacken their nails and part of 
their hands with the leaves of the henna tree. Upon 
the whole, I cannot say that I remember seeing a 
pretty face among the females of the land, or a 
countenance that excited even passing admiration. 

The city of Alexandria, in its present condition, 
woefully disappoints the least sanguine traveller. I 
could not help thinking it one of the most dull and 
uninteresting places I had ever seen. The contrast 
between the modern town and the far-famed city, 
founded by the Macedonian conqueror, extended and 
embellished under the Ptolemies, produces disap- 
pointment and depression of spirits ; even if great 



33 



allowance is made for exaggeration in the current 
statement, that ancient Alexandria contained three 
millions of inhabitants, and had a street of palaces 
two miles in length ! With a record before us of 
the fall and decay of the great empires of the world, 
we find it difficult for the mind to realize the extent 
of the change that has taken place on this most 
highly-favored site. 

After the occupation of a busy day, I enjoyed a 
sound sleep in my quarters in the hotel; but my 
companions, Mr. Murray, and a youngster of the 
name of Denny, who was travelling with him, made 
their appearance, the following morning, in a most 
pitiable plight. They could not say, with any degree 
of certainty, whether they had suffered greater in- 
fliction from the fleas or mosquitos ; but they had 
passed a night of excruciating torture, and, every 
now and then, I heard some exclamation about the 
plagues of Egypt ! 

We left Alexandria early in the day, amid a 
deluging shower of rain, which quite satisfied us, not- 
withstanding the trite remarks of geographical text- 
books, that it never rains in Egypt; but this applies 
more particularly to Upper Egypt. During the 
summer I have seen it, in Canada, pour down some- 
times very respectably ; but the storm of rain which 



34 



fell, on our leaving Alexandria, was such as can 
never be washed from the memory. After a two 
miles drive we reached the railway, and at nine were 
fairly on our way to Cairo. 

On entering the railway- carriage, we found almost 
every seat occupied. I got a place next to one of 
the descendants of the Prophet, easily distinguished 
by his rich fur cloak, and otherwise elaborate dress, 
and by the green turban (the badge of his descent). 
He looked like his countryman in Aleppo, alluded 
to by Othello, " a malignant and a turban'd Turk," 
with an eye (you may see its fellow in a menagerie) 
expressive of intense hatred. He scowled on me 
with absolute ferocity ; and although he spoke 
in Arabic, it was easy to conceive that the words 
uttered implied some such complimentary salutation 
as — "Dog of an infidel ! what dost thou here ?" 
During the whole of our journey to Cairo, he 
continued to mutter expressions, no doubt equally 
flattering. I offered him a cigar, in the hope of 
propitiating him, but he drew back haughtily, as 
if the offer were an insult : so I left him to himself, 
and made a passing acquaintance with some Egyptian 
officers, who spoke a little French, and who were 
moving about on duty. Except in the case just 
mentioned, I always found that a cigar, courteously 
offered, was a sure introduction to friendly feeling. 



85 



It was in the railway- carriage that I first wit- 
nessed the punctilious devotion of the followers of 
Mahommed ; five times a- day do they turn towards 
Mecca, prostrating themselves on their knees, pray- 
ing earnestly; and, every now and then, touching the 
ground with their foreheads, springing and stand- 
ing upright, they then resume the kneeling posture. 
What a lesson to us, who pride ourselves on being 
Christians ! Go into any of our churches, and see 
how few will condescend to bend the knee ; while 
engaged in prayer, how few will kneel ! I speak 
exclusively of men ; from woman we have a bright 
example, in this respect, and should follow it. 

About noon, we reached the Nile ; and then we 
felt that we were indeed in the land of the Bible, 
which is, after all, here as in Palestine, the best hand- 
book for the Christian traveller. Cold must that 
heart be, which swells not with emotion, when the eye, 
for the first time, gazes on this renowned river, the 
waters of which were turned into blood, and its banks 
became the scene of so many miracles and wonders ; 
and, add to this, we were now in the land where our 
Saviour passed a short time when an infant. 

From the windows of the railway-carriage we be- 
held something new every moment : — long strings of 
camels, — numerous villages of mud-houses, the inha- 



36 



bitarits of which appeared to live in a most destitute 
condition. Every where we saw mills for the eleva- 
tion of water, for the purposes of irrigation, worked 
sometimes by oxen, sometimes by asses, and even by 
cows, but more frequently by men. The Pyramids 
now appeared upon the scene, looking more striking 
in the distance, than when more nearly approached. 
During the afternoon we passed the landofGroshen,and 
arrived at Cairo at about seven in the evening. On 
alighting, we were surprised to observe the number 
of passengers — not less than three hundred. The 
noise and uproar of the donkey-boys was most extra- 
ordinary, passing even the chattering of women when 
congregated together ; at length we found our way to 
Shepherd's well-known hotel — a magnificent building, 
which formerly belonged to the Pacha, and covers 
several acres of land. The entrance-hall is very spa- 
cious, with passages about twice as broad as the streets 
of the city. I got a capital bed-room ; and, with 
English servants in attendance, and a well-supplied 
table, could not ,help feeling comfortably at home. 
Shepherd himself, who has not passed the grand 
climacteric, has made a large fortune, and has lately 
purchased an estate in Warwickshire, where he intends 
to reside. I hope, for the sake of the tourists who 
may follow me, that his successor will keep as com- 



37 

fortable a house, as he has made a point of doing, for 
the benefit of wayfarers at a distance from home. 

Before inspecting Cairo, and visiting the wonders 
in its vicinity, we determined to proceed at once to 
Suez, and obtain our promised glimpse of the Red 
Sea. Accordingly, we started next morning, at six 
o'clock, and in the course of half an hour were in the 
desert, crossing it in nearly the identical route which 
tradition gives to the children of Israel, Passing over 
the desert in a comfortable railway-carriage, and at 
railway speed, dispels in a great measure the poetical 
feeling associated with reminiscences of the caravan 
and the camel, going over the ground at the rate of 
three miles an hour. But who would, now, in these 
days of rapid transit, prefer going from London 
and Edinburgh in a post-chaise, or carriage and 
four, — the aristocratic mode of passing between these 
two capitals a very few years ago ? 

The desert is seen from the windows of the 
railway-car, as satisfactorily as can be desired ; for 
what, in reality, is to be seen ? All is lifeless and 
herbless, except when, here and there, may be des- 
cried a string of camels, wending their way, like 
" Ships of the Desert," as they are called. And yet 
occasionally, though it is scarcely possible to discern 
a blade of grass around, the traveller is struck by 



38 



espying a shepherd, with a large flock of sheep and 
goats, carefully leading them along, recalling to mind 
the figurative language of Scripture, 'm which the 
Great Shepherd is described as the leader of His 
people. We were also reminded, in the course of 
the day, of another scriptural allusion, and, thereby, 
of the extremely slight change in the customs of the 
East : — we saw "two women grinding at the mill." 
At every step some text of Scripture is recalled to 
mind ; and certainly, among my souvenirs of this 
journey, one of the most agreeable arises from the 
illustrations, which might be gathered in confirmation 
of the truthfulness of the Bible. 

The wind blew a gale, and the sand was like 
drifting snow, but it did not last long ; otherwise we 
should have been delayed, as is frequently the case, 
between Cairo and Suez. We reached Suez at noon, 
and a short time sufficed to see the miserable mud- 
huts which compose the town. Shepherd has an 
excellent house here, as well as at Cairo, situated 
immediately on the shores of the Red Sea. The spot, 
to which tradition points as the locality of the passage 
of the Children of Israel, is at some distance from 
this site. The Red Sea is, as every one knows, very 
long compared with its breadth ; and from Suez it 
has much the appearance of a river, especially to 
those who are familiar with the broad St. Lawrence 



39 



and the rivers of the American continent. But after 
my introductory remarks, the reader will not expect 
me to transcribe from hand-books or the polemical 
treatises of learned writers and travellers, the details 
connected with the extent or history of this renowned 
gulf. 

I promised, in the title-page, to give a glimpse 
of three memorable seas, and I shall literally fulfil 
my promise by giving, as I have now done, a bird's- 
eye view of one of them. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC EAILWAY, 

versus 

THE OVEKLAND EOUTE. 



Suez, in itself, is certainly a wretched village, and 
would not attract more of the public attention than 
any other small Egyptian town, were it not for the 
peculiarity of its site, the circumstance of its giving 
a name to the celebrated Isthmus, which connects 
Asia and Africa, and more especially, at present, for 
the attempts which are made towards the accomplish- 
ment of that great project — the construction of a 
canal to connect the Red Sea with the waters of the 
Mediterranean. In this respect it assumes consi- 
derable importance ; and although I do not, by any 
means, entertain the sanguine opinions expressed by 
Alison on this exciting topic, yet I cannot resist 
quoting his eloquent remarks, having a few plain 



42 



words to add in connection with the subject, and on 
the selection of the most desirable route from the 
British Islands to the East. In the twenty-fifth 
chapter of his History of Europe, the enthusiastic 
historian has these remarks : — 

" When in the revolution of ages, civilization shall have returned 
to its ancient cradle, — when the desolation of Mahommedan rule 
shall have ceased, and the light of religion illumined the land of 
its birth, Egypt will again become one of the great centres of 
human industry ; the invention of steam will restore the commu- 
nication with the East to its original channel, and the nation, 
which shall revive the canal of Suez, and open a direct communi- 
cation between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, will pour into 
its bosom those streams of wealth, which in every age have consti- 
tuted the principal sources of European opulence. The great 
Leibnitz, in the time of Louis XIV, addressed to that great 
monarch a memorial, which is one of the noblest monuments of 
political foresight : — ' Sire, (said he,) it is not at home that you 
will succeed in subduing the Dutch; you will not cross their 
dikes, and you will rouse Europe to their assistance. It is in 
Egypt, that the real blow is to be struck. There you will find the 
true commercial route to India; you will wrest that lucrative 
commerce from Holland, you will secure the eternal dominion of 
France in the Levant, you will fill Christianity with joy/ These 
ideas, however," (adds the historian,) "were beyond the age; and 
they lay dormant till revived by the genius of Napoleon." 

That similar views were, in fact, ardently enter- 
tained by Napoleon the First, is now a matter of 
history ; nor is it doubtful that his nephew cherishes 



43 



like aspirations, and eagerly desires and plans to 
secure an effectual footing in Egypt. The nature of 
the desert, intervening between the Red Sea and 
the low marshy shores of the Mediterranean, in the 
vicinity of Alexandria, renders the construction of a 
canal almost an impossibility, without taking into 
consideration the immense expenditure, which must, 
under any circumstances, be incurred. This is the 
opinion of scientific men, who were sent specially to 
report upon the practicability of the project. It is 
certainly impossible to imagine how the quicksand 
can be mastered. Whether Mr. Lesseppes actually 
thinks that it may, and sincerely believes that the 
project is practicable, I will not undertake to assert : 
he undoubtedly finds the design highly popular in 
France, and (if we are to judge from the expendi- 
ture) not altogether unprofitable to himself. 

It is highly probable that the work will be com- 
menced in good earnest, for the enterprise enjoys 
the warm support of the French government. Whe- 
ther it will be prosecuted with energy, may be 
reasonably doubted ; but one cannot help thinking, 
that it is intended as an important political move. 
Money enough will be spent in order to render some 
protection to French interests requisite ; and then, 
on some sudden emergency, before England or Eu- 
rope can well be aware of what is going on, a French 



44 



force may be sent to Egypt/ as has recently been the 
case in Syria. And thus, with the Gallic eagles in 
Algeria, Egypt and Syria, the Mediterranean may, 
with good reason, come to be styled "a French 
Lake." 

From these considerations naturally arises the 
propriety of arguing a very important question : "Is 
Egypt the only line of speedy communication with 
India and the far East ? Assuredly the project of 
forming a continuous line of railway across the 
northern continent of America, from the shores of 
the Atlantic to the Pacific, acquires, in such a dis- 
cussion, a most prominent importance. The comple- 
tion of such an immense work would bring China, 
with the eastern coast and islands of Asia, within 
thirty days of London, Liverpool and Glasgow, even 
for heavy merchandise ; nor would Calcutta be much 
farther distant, in point of time, by this route, than 
it is by the present so-called Overland-route. 

A Canadian on his travels may be allowed, at 
such a place as Suez, to enter into a few minute 
particulars connected with the discussion of this 
subject: — The Jesuits, during their early discoveries 
in Canada, conceived (it is well-known) the mag- 
nificent idea 3 that a western communication by water 
with Asia would be found to exist in this direction ; 



45 



and thus, while pursuing their course along the 
waters of the broad St. Lawrence, they arrived at 
the expanse, where Ottawa unites with the main 
Canadian artery, about nine or ten miles above the 
city of Montreal : they were so convinced of their 
having fallen in with the desired passage, that they 
named the place La Chine, — a name which it retains 
to this day. If this vast idea, which so forcibly 
struck these zealous explorers, were now to be carried 
out by railway, instead of water, England might care 
less anxiously who had predominant possession in the 
Mediterranean. There would naturally follow a con- 
siderable saving in the navy estimates, there being 
fewer fleets to maintain, and the fleet on the Halifax 
station within ten days' call of the authorities at home. 

About two years ago, at a public dinner given by 
some of the leading citizens of Quebec to Lord 
Bury, who had come from England to British North 
America, for the promotion of an object in connec- 
tion with this question, the writer of these pages was 
one of the Vice-Presidents, and took the opportunity 
of delivering his views on the subject, in a speech, a 
report of which will be found in an Appendix, for 
the perusal of those who take an interest in such 
matters. Since that time, the very cordial reception 
given by the citizens of the United States to His 
Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, on his visit to 



46 



this continent, lias made him change his opinion as 
to the desirability of having an Atlantic and Pacific 
railroad constructed solely on British territory. For, 
certainly, it would prove a powerful guarantee, for 
the general maintenance of peace, to have the British 
empire and the United States — even should there be 
two or more Confederations in their stead — bound 
together by their united interest in a highway, which 
might justly be considered as the most important in 
the world. It seems to me rather extraordinary, 
that so few public men, in England and Canada, 
give to this great measure that attention and support 
which it so eminently appears to deserve. The 
writer, when President of the Board of Trade in 
Quebec, signed a petition to the Provincial Legis- 
lature on the subject, but could not even succeed 
in getting a committee appointed to report there- 
upon ; and when in London, last winter, he vainly 
essayed to induce one or two friends in the House of 
Commons to bring forward the project, as one worthy 
of Imperial consideration and support. It certainly 
might be accomplished, on pledging the value of the 
results which would accrue from the mineral produce 
of Columbia and the Principality of Vancouver's 
Island ; for, undoubtedly, this island, with its excel- 
lent harbours, its extensive coal-fields, its abundant 
mineral productions, and other natural advantages, 



47 



would soon acquire a just title to such a denomina- 
tion. But so great, in these days, is the dread of 
public opinion and ridicule, that no member, either 
in the Provincial or Imperial Legislature, has had 
the courage to come forward, and introduce the 
discussion of a measure, fraught with the highest 
importance to the world. In fact, I am not quite 
certain, whether the member, to whom the petition 
was entrusted in our Provincial Parliament, had the 
hardihood (!) to present it. 

The distance, still to be spanned over, is great, 
and the cost would be very formidable in the eyes of 
most nations ; but, to the British empire and the 
United States difficulties should vanish, when it is 
considered that such a highway would give to them 
the control of the greater part of the trade to the 
far West and East, and would set the two great 
branches of the Anglo-Saxon race, in a great mea- 
sure, beyond or above the influence of European 
powers in congress. Destined, as they are, to be 
the great civilizers of the countless masses in India, 
China, and the adjacent countries, they might well be 
justified in regarding the completion of the Atlantic 
and Pacific railway as the great fact of the age. 

If public men and capitalists in England would 
seriously turn their attention to this important ques- 



48 



tion ? and boldly look it in the face in all its bearings, 
they would enter as heartily into the great project as 
the people of the United States now do. Lord Bury 
and Judge Haliburton ought to be mentioned with 
distinction for the attention which they have given 
to this subject, and for the interest which they have 
taken in the whole question.* With regard to the 
expense, the annual saving in the navy estimates, — 
although by no means, at present, a popular consi- 
deration in England, — would (as I have already 
hinted) cover the outlay. There are, of course, as 
in all similar undertakings, engineering difficulties in 
the way, but these cannot be regarded as insur- 
mountable in the present day. The Report of the 
party lately sent, under the guidance of Mr. Palisser, 
to examine the Rocky Mountains and explore the 
practicable Passes, will be anxiously looked for by 
those who fee] an interest in the subject ; and who 
should not ? 

But I begin to fear that even my patient readers 
will imagine that it is out of place for me, being in 
the east, to refer so pointedly, and at such length, 
to the far-west ; yet the subject concerns not only 
British North America, in all its immense extent, 

* Since these pages have been in type, an exceedingly good 
Editorial has appeared in the London Illustrated News, of the 
16th February, strongly advocating this great work. 



49 



and the British Islands themselves, but also the 
whole Empire, and the world in general. I 
must, however, admit, that the digression has been 
rather long ; and I fear that, unless I make haste, 
the return train from Suez will have started, and I 
may be left alone in this village of mud-dwellings. 

When at Suez, I felt a strong desire to proceed to 
Madras, having a son in the 60th Eegiment, then 
stationed at that Presidency ; but my time was 
limited, and my visit to India would necessarily 
have been so short, that the pleasure of meeting 
would have been sadly counterbalanced by an almost 
immediate separation. 



1! 
§ 



CHAPTER VI. 



RETURN TO CAIRO — THE PYRAMIDS. 



The Egyptian railway is admirably managed, and 
has a neat and clean appearance, the sleepers being 
of iron, instead of wood, as usual. The speed attained 
over the one hundred and forty-two miles, stoppages 
included, averages about twenty miles an hour. The 
engineers are mostly Scotch, though occasionally a 
native may be seen on duty, an arrangement calcu- 
lated to excite an unpleasant feeling. It is in con- 
templation to carry on the railway towards Aden, at 
the mouth of the Red Sea ; this would shorten the 
overland-route, and lessen the time now required, by 
four or five days, besides avoiding the risk incurred 
in navigating the gulf, from coral-reefs of great 
extent. 

On our arrival at Shepherd's excellent hotel, we 
were enabled to make arrangements for starting, the 

E 2 



52 



following morning, on a visit to the Pyramids. Ac- 
cordingly after an early breakfast, Mrs. Gordon, Mr. 
Murray, young Denny and myself, went together, 
in a carriage, to old Cairo. On the way we passed 
the spot where (as tradition hands down) the infant 
Moses was taken from among the bulrushes. 

We crossed the Nile in a ferry, and found donkeys 
awaiting us on the farther side ; speedily mounting, 
we were off at a gallop, accompanied by Arab boys, 
shouting most vociferously, and, every here and there, 
making a fresh rush on us for backsheesh. We speedi- 
ly crossed the wood of palm-trees, and were soon on 
the spacious plain, where the great battle of the 
Pyramids was fought in 1798, and where the Mamelukes 
were so completely routed. The words addressed by 
Napoleon to his troops, before the engagement, occur- 
red to our minds as singularly adapted, on such a 
scene, to inspire his soldiers with more than wonted 
ardour: — "Remember, that, from the summit of these 
Pyramids, forty centuries contemplate your action !" 

The Pyramids strike all travellers with feelings of 
wonder and admiration, which are increased in in- 
tensity the more nearly these huge monuments are 
approached. The height of the chief pyramid, ascribed 
to Cheops, is 477 feet, being 40 feet higher than St. 
Peter's cupola at Rome, and 133 feet higher than 



53 



St. Paul's in London, while the length of the base is 
720 feet ; of the second pyramid, the perpendicular 
height is 456 feet, the slanting height 568, and the 
side of the base 684. These dimensions are larger 
than have been usually assigned, but this is accounted 
for from their being taken by Belzoni from the base 
cleared of the sand and rubbish. 

When viewed from the ground, the stones forming 
the graduated steps seem so small to the gazer up- 
wards, that a doubt arises in his mind, whether they 
will be sufficiently large to sustain the point of his 
shoe. Many visitors are consequently deterred from 
attempting the ascent ; but suddenly three or four 
Arabs seize the hesitating adventurer, and urge him 
upwards in a rather compulsory manner — one taking 
hold of each hand, and one or two pushing behind. 

The blocks of stone are regular, about three feet 
deep, and as many wide ; so that persons ascending, 
on perceiving that the steps do not diminish in size, 
gradually lose the idea of danger, gain confidence, 
and, after some twenty minutes of pretty severe exer- 
cise, reach the top,— a plain surface about thirty feet 
square. 

From this eminence there is a magnificent and 
altogether a most interesting view. The Nile, vary- 
ing in width, is seen meandering through the desert; 



54 



and it has the appearance of a green snake, with the 
desert on either side, all dull and dreary, Cairo, 
with its mosques and minarets, seems to lie at your 
feet ; the Delta, so famous for its rich and fertile soil, 
forming the dead level towards the Mediterranean ; 
the Pyramids of Sakkara ; Memphis, and the Libyan 
desert — are all in sight. 

The process, however, of being pulled and pushed 
up by the Arabs, is, after all, not very pleasant, and 
something more than a joke. They treat the adven- 
turer under their hands as if he were a bale of goods ; 
and the wonder is, how he can escape without having 
his arms dislocated. They all know a little English 
now-a-days, and are fond of singing. " I have a 
donkey, and he would not go !" was one of the first 
exclamations that greeted the ear on our arrival in 
Alexandria ; but, at the Pyramids, the refrain was : 

" Englishman — very good man, 
Englishman — gentle-man, 

Backsheesh ! 99 

In fact, backsheesh is their constant cry, ever in 
their throats and on their lips ; and it is not so 
wonderful, perhaps, when we take into consideration, 
that it is their only means of earning a livelihood, or 
rather their sole resource of raising a revenue. And 
when they get the traveller to the top of the pyramid, 



55 



they practise extortion to the utmost; and induce 
many to give them all the money which they have 
about them. One would hardly grudge an extra half 
crown, on the summit of the great pyramid ; but a 
distinct agreement, previously made through the 
dragoman, respecting the charge for going up and 
coming down, will afford sufficient protection \ for 
there is always a Sheikh, or Head of the tribe, on 
the spot, and he will prevent imposition and see 
justice maintained. 

By whom were the Pyramids built, and for what 
purpose? These are questions, which do not fall 
within my present scope ; and they have exercised the 
ingenuity and learning of ancient sages, as well as of 
modern philosophers and travellers. The following 
lines by Kirke White, on this subject, are as strik- 
ingly apposite, as they are remarkable for their beauty 
and truth: — 

" Who lies inhumed in the terrific gloom 
Of the gigantic pyramid ? Or who 
Reared its huge walls ? Oblivion laughs and says, 
The prey is mine ; — they sleep, and never more 
Their names shall strike upon the ear of man, 
Their memory burst its fetters." 

On approaching the Pyramids, an object is visible, 
which (on first sight) might be taken for a large 
boulder. On asking what it might be, I heard, to 



56 



my surprise, that it was the Sphinx. A feeling of 
disappointment followed for the moment ; but this 
wore away as we drew nearer and became more fully 
aware of its colossal size. The head and shoulders 
only are seen, and are, to a certain extent, immersed 
in sand ; and the face is so weather-beaten, that ere 
long it will be difficult to trace the lineaments. The 
features, however, are still strongly marked, and are 
purely Coptic ; so strikingly was this the case, that 
Mr, Murray could not help remarking, that the little 
boy, who stood near us with a water-jug, might (as 
far as likeness was concerned) be justly taken for 
the sculptured monster's grandson. The little fellow 
understood English, and immediately cried : " Yes, 
that is my grandmother !" — there certainly was a 
decided resemblance. 

On our return to Cairo, we visited the celebrated 
Mosque of Mahommed Ali, with its large court and 
its fountains. The mosque is built of alabaster ; and 
the large court is paved with the same material, inlaid 
here and there with marble. Near this spot is the 
Citadel, and likewise the Court where the Mamelukes 
were massacred. The fearful leap taken by Emir 
Bey, the sole survivor, is still pointed out ; — he 
escaped, but his gallant charger was killed by the 
fall. 



57 



Christians are tolerated, but not welcomed, as 
visitors in the mosques. Master Denny, of our party, 
had strayed from us ; and, after some time, I found 
him sitting cross-legged on the floor, while a fanatical 
Turk was meditating some signal punishment on the 
truant ; however, on my reproaching the youngster 
with the breach of propriety and etiquette, the Turk 
withdrew. A fortnight afterwards, in the same 
mosque, a disgraceful outrage was committed by 
some forty or fifty Englishmen, which was subse- 
quently commented on in both Houses of Parliament 
with great severity ; and most deservedly so, for such 
conduct, in addition to ether results, would soon 
render the mosques as difficult of access as they al- 
ways had beeu till within the last few years. A Court 
Martial has been sitting in Calcutta on some of the 
leaders of this unwarrantable insult ; and doubtless 
all concerned now lament their having conducted 
themselves in such an ungentlemanly and scandalous 
manner on the occasion in question, (4th April, I860,) 
in mocking and insulting certain dervishes and other 
worshippers, while engaged in their devotions in this 
great mosque of Cairo, and in outraging the feelings 
of the Mahommedan inhabitants of this city, during 
a religious festival. 

On our return from the mosque, — as it was the first 
day of their great festival, the Ramadan,— we visited, 



58 



in the course of the evening, a tent, which we had 
previously seen during the day. A party of dancing 
dervishes were here exhibiting ; but as some ladies 
had come with us, a few seconds of the sight sufficed 
to satisfy their curiosity, and we withdrew. 

Next day we rode to the Petrified Forest, where 
the trees wear the appearance of having been quite 
recently cut ; so white and fresh do the chips look, 
that one could easily imagine the axe had been 
used the same morning. On our return, we passed 
through the tombs of the Caliphs — beautiful structures 
at a distance ; they have been well illustrated by 
photographs taken on the spot, one of which I am 
enabled to give. Gracefully Saracenic, in point of 
architecture, with their domes and minarets, they 
appear perfectly beautiful till they are reached ; and 
then a ride through the solitary City of the Dead 
becomes a melancholy occupation ; for those struc- 
tures, which seem so fair at a distance, are found 
crumbling to decay. The domes are covered with 
elegant tiles, which apparently resist the destroying 
hand of time, as it spreads desolation around 
" data sunt ipsis quoquefata sepulchris" 

One day, I happened to take luncheon in the tomb 
lately discovered near the great pyramid of Cheops, 
and was moralizing on the very inconsistent use made 



59 



of that splendid mausoleum, with its beautiful pillars 
and proportions, yet spacious enough to make a mag- 
nificent dining-room. On this occasion, perceiving 
several beautiful specimens of beetles, I was reminded 
of a promise which I had made to a young lady of 
Montreal, the daughter of an esteemed friend, that I 
would endeavour to add to her collections in Natural 
History some entomological, as well as botanical, 
specimens. — The latter department I prevailed on Mr. 
Murray to undertake, for he was quite at home in 
this interesting branch. — Yet I soon discovered that 
the beetles alone bothered me considerably ; for I had 
been instructed by the young lady to have a pot of 
boiling water in readiness, in which to throw them, 
being assured, by my fair young friend, that they 
would suffer no pain, I was, however, a little scep- 
tical on this point, and became impressed with some 
glimmering recollections of the Brahminical doctrine of 
Metempsychosis; so 1 wrote to her, and remarked, that 
as possibly I might, in the delicate process, be guilty 
of torturing her great -great -grandmother or some 
ancestor of my own, I preferred sending her a few 
specimens, purchased at a Naturalist's museum in 
Cairo. This naturalist's collection was certainly of a 
most comprehensive and copious character, from a 
beetle up to a mummy, a crocodile or alligator. 



Before leaving Cairo, we visited the storehouses of 
Joseph,— which are, in fact, nothing but an accumu- 
lation of old brick and other rubbish and after- 
wards the Bazaars. These, it is well-known, are, 
in Eastern cities, the great marts of commerce, with 
their long labyrinths of narrow lanes. Every depart- 
ment of trade has a separate street to itself ; these 
are very narrow, and generally covered, so as to 
preclude the burning rays of the sun. There is no 
room for wheeled carriages, but camels and donkeys 
innumerable wend their way quietly among the pas- 
sengers. It is indeed wonderful, how one can escape 
the camels ; every moment they seem likely to tread 
on the feet of the bystanders or passengers, and a 
corn-crusher of the kind should be prudently avoided. 

The Turks, in exacting a price, generally demand 
three times as much as they will be content to take ; 
but they are so listless and indifferent, ever with the 
long pipe in the mouth, that they decidedly seem to 
consider it a bore to sell their own wares. Their 
shops are stalls, crammed with an immense variety 
of articles. When a stranger makes a purchase, he 
finds great difficulty in making payment for it. Their 
coin is so wretchedly debased, and its value difficult 
to be ascertained ; their copper is literally shavings, 
and their silver little better. It is amusing at times 
to hear the dragomen talking of ten thousand piastres, 



61 



as if the amount constituted a mint of money; whereas 
the value of a piastre does not exceed two pence 
sterling. Females are never seen attending the sale 
of goods. 

The mode of salutation among the Turks, Arabs, 
and Egyptians, is much the same. The kiss be- 
tween man and man is seldom, if ever, seen ; though 
such was undoubtedly the prevalent custom in the age 
of the patriarchs, and in much later times. This mode 
of salutation among males appears to be confined to 
the continental parts of Europe. The Turkish fashion 
between equals is to strike the palms of the hands 
together ; then to touch the region of the heart with 
the right hand, indicating that all is right there ; 
then to touch the lips, a gesture expressive of the 
readiness of the tongue to say everything that is 
polite and pleasant ; then the forehead, intimating 
that the intellect comprehends the importance of the 
occasion ; — and the ceremony concludes with an in- 
clination of the head. This is all very well, I used 
to think ; but the hearty shake of the hand, according 
to British custom, given with sincerity and cordiality, 
appeared to me to be a more simple and intelligible 
mode of salutation, and assuredly all that I should 
wish or expect from my fellow-man. 

I fancied, several times, that I observed a notable 
resemblance between the Arabs and our North- 



62 



American Indians. Certainly both have the same 
high cheek-bones, the same dark complexion and 
copper colour, the hair black, but seldom any whiskers 
or beard. There is, however, one great difference ; 
the Arabs are a cheerful and jocund set of people, 
full of animation, always laughing and chattering ; — 
the American Indians, on the other hand, are an 
impassive race, not addicted to jocularity or laugh- 
ter, but rather inclined to manifest contempt and 
indignation for those who indulge in such habits, 
especially if the laughter is loud and boisterous. A 
circumstance, illustrative of this latter fact, recurs so 
forcibly to my mind, that I cannot resist the oppor- 
tunity of relating it at the conclusion of this pro- 
tracted chapter : — When the late Lord Aylmer was 
Governor General of Canada, some thirty years ago, 
he went on an excursion to Graspe. As such was a 
rare occurrence in those days, among others who 
flocked from various parts to welcome the repre- 
sentative of royalty, there came a party of Mic-mac 
Indians, to the number of five or six hundred. 
According to the usual phrase — a great talk was 
organized; and His Excellency landed, with a bril- 
liant staff, to meet this respectable deputation of the 
aboriginal race. The Indian Chief, — a fine, powerful 
man, surrounded by his principal warriors, — com- 
menced a long oration, delivered (as on all similar 



63 



occasions) in a sing-song, drawling sort of manner, 
with frequent bowing of the head, but solemnly and 
without excitement It happened that a vessel 
had been wrecked, some months previously, at the 
mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; and the Indians 
in this quarter, being quite as adroit and ready as 
the wreckers on some parts of the Irish, Welsh and 
Cornish coasts, had profited largely by the windfall. 
Among other little ornaments, which they had seized, 
there was a box full of labels for decanters, marked, in 
conspicuous characters, "Rum" "Gift" "Brandy" 
&c, &c. The Chief had his head liberally encircled 
with tin ornaments of the usual kind ; and, on this 
occasion, he had dexterously affixed to his ears and 
nose some of the captured labels. At the beginning 
of the interview, these were not particularly dis- 
cernible amid the novelty of the spectacle ; and it 
was only while listening to the lengthened harangue 
of the savage Chief, that His Excellency began to 
scrutinize his appearance and dress ; and then his 
eye alighted on the appendages hanging from his 
ears and nose, with the labels inscribed, "Brandy" 
16 Gin" and "Rum!" Glancing towards his staff, he 
could no longer maintain his gravity, and was joined 
in a hearty but indecorous burst of unrestrainable 
laughter. The indignant Chief, with his followers, 
immediately withdrew, and would neither be pacified 



64 



nor persuaded to return on any terms or explanation. 
Lord Aylmer, in relating to me the circumstance, 
remarked, that he had often been in very trying 
situations, but that he had never felt so vexed as he 
had done on account of the offence which he had 
given to these poor people. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FKOM JAFFA TO JEEUSALEM. 

Fkom Cairo we returned by railway to Alexandria, 
and were fortunate enough to find a French steamer 
on the eve of starting for Jaffa in Palestine. J affa 
(the Joppa of the New Testament) looks remarkably 
well from the sea. Happily, on the morning of our 
arrival, the weather was calm ; for there is only an 
open road-stead and no harbour, so that steamers 
are frequently obliged to proceed onwards to Beyrout, 
without landing passengers and goods destined for 
Jaffa. This is a great hardship, and one from which, 
by the conditions of the passage-ticket, there is no 
redress. The steamer, on this occasion, was full of 
passengers, the greater part being a caravan or convoy 
of Roman Catholics, en route for the Holy City. 
Among these I was glad to make the acquaintance of 
Dr. Durocher, of Montreal, and one of the reverend 
gentlemen of the Seminary of St. Sulpice. 



66 



Jaffa appeared to much advantage from the deck 
of the steamer ; but, on entering the city, we were 
sadly disappointed. The streets are narrow and 
filthy, and the tout-ensemble wore a most wretched 
look; still we experienced a feeling of gratification, 
that we were, at length, safely arrived in Palestine. 

We remained in the town a very short time, and 
found no difficulty in engaging a dragoman ex- 
pressly for the journey to Jerusalem. This is a 
course which I should recommend, in preference to 
taking one at Cairo or Alexandria. By noon, we 
were on our way; and certainly, though Jaffa is 
miserable enough within its precincts, it has a neigh- 
bourhood which a little culture would render most 
luxuriant and productive. We rode, I might almost 
say, through forests of orange, lemon and citron trees, 
the fragrance and perfume of which we had inhaled 
and enjoyed when we were a few miles off at sea, 
and the delightful odour continued to accompany us 
on our journey as far as Ramleh. 

From J affa to Ramleh the traveller may ride, at a 
good pace, through the beautiful valley of Sharon ; 
which, though sandy, is well cultivated. A continuous 
train of wanderers and inhabitants prevent the route 
from being solitary; for Easter is the season at Jeru- 
salem, and the roads are numerously frequented. We 



67 



reached Ramleh in about three hours from Jaffa, and 
took up bur abode in the Latin Convent. Here, 
thanks in a great measure to Mr. Brown, (one of our 
party, who spoke Spanish,) we were very hospitably 
entertained. The greater part of the Brotherhood 
are from Spain, but the chef-de-cuisine was. an 
Italian ; and certainly the dinner, which he served 
up, would not have disgraced a first-rate restaurant 
in Paris, or (what I consider to be as high a compli- 
ment) our own chef in the Conservative Club in 
London, Before dinner we ascended to the top of 
the tower, built in the time of the Crusaders; and, 
from this elevation, we had the valley of Sharon and 
the hill-country of Judea full in view before us,- — a 
most interesting scene. Upon this spot Richard of 
the lion-heart was long encamped ; and here he con- 
cluded the celebrated peace with Saladin the Great, 
before he left the Holy Land for ever, 

We left Ramleh about four o'clock next morning, 
and were joined by several travellers ; but these did 
not remain long in company with us. For about two 
hours our ride was a very pleasant one, but when we 
arrived at Latron, at the base of the hills, the pleasant 
part of our journey was ended; for there we com- 
menced a dreary and painful ascent over steep, abrupt 
mountains, and soon found, to our discomfort, that we 

i?2 



68 



were in the hill-country of J udea. It would be diffi- 
cult for any one to form an adequate conception of 
the bridle-path over which we had to wend our way. 
It is, in many places, more suited for goats than 
horses ; and so slippery were the hard, flinty rocks, 
that it excited our surprise how the horses managed 
to keep their footing at all. Here and there, valleys 
came in view, rich in terraces and cultivation, full of 
olive and fig-trees and spreading vines. Now and then 
a village of small huts, built of loose stones, with flat 
roofs, was seen on the side of a hill. But, upon the 
whole, it w as a dreary ride ; and the general face of 
the country around presented nothing but rock, ex- 
cept in the instances alluded to. In one sense the 
scene was lively, by reason of the number of pilgrims 
and travellers on their way to J erusalem. The day 
was oppressively hot ; and though we wore light 
wide-awakes, which were enveloped in white muslin, 
we found umbrellas very acceptable. After we had 
toiled along the road for about seven hours, at the 
rate of three miles an hour, one of our party had 
nearly broken down ; but, at four o'clock, the " City of 
the Great King" came in sight, and the view cheered 
the faint and weary. Although the appearance of 
this ancient and renowned site was not so imposing 
from our present access, yet we all experienced a 
feeling of deep interest and enthusiastic excitement, 



69 



as we gazed earnestly on the spot itself and the 
surrounding country. It was holy ground ; and in 
this now comparatively small city, and its immediate 
vicinity, the most wonderful events in the history 
of man had been enacted ; here — it occurred to 
our minds with intermingled feelings of gratitude, 
humility and joy — the great atonement was offered. 

The Jaffa Gate is the usual way of entering Jeru- 
salem, except for those who approach from crossing 
the desert. As the traveller draws near to the city, 
he is struck by the high, regular and imposing walls, 
with which it is surrounded ; and though these would, 
undoubtedly, quickly crumble beneath an Armstrong 
or a Whitworth piece of artillery, they are found 
sufficient to keep the roving Arab and Bedouin in 
check. 

The Mount of Olives rose in front of us, but on 
the other side of the city; and although it is only 
two hundred feet higher than the site thereof, it 
creates an impression, that Jerusalem is situated on 
a low and level surface ; whereas, in reality, the 
mountain on which it is built is 2200 feet high. 

On entering the Jaffa Gate — the most crowded of 
all the entrances — -the traveller, when fairly within the 
walls, becomes painfully aware that he is indeed in 
an Eastern city. There is a total want of sewerage.; 



70 



the streets are narrow, and so badly paved (though 
paved with marble taken from the ruins of the temple, 
and used for this purpose,) and so slippery withal, 
that I could not help fearing that my jaded horse 
would stumble. Although I was assured to the con- 
trary by the dragoman, who kindly laid hold of the 
bridle, the brute came down flat on his side, knocking 
me against a stonewall, and bruisingme rather severely, 
I walked the remainder of the way, and soon arrived 
at Hauler's hotel, in Christian street, situated on the 
side of Hezekiah's Pool, which is immediately under 
the dining-room windows. There is another hotel; both 
are very comfortable, and the terms moderate. In fact, 
it is infinitely better to take up one's quarters in either 
of these than to go to any Convent, where everything 
is given grudgingly and as a favor, — where one is not 
his own master, and yet is expected to give twice as 
much as would be charged for better accommodation 
at the hotels ; and where, if the weary traveller does 
sleep, it is in spite of the untiring efforts of the 
numerous insect tribe. 

The 29th of March was the day on which I arrived 
in the Holy City, — a day much to be remembered 
by me. Although it was late in the afternoon, we 
had two hours to look about us ; and we endeavoured 
to employ them profitably. We visited, in the first 
place, the Pacha's Palace, or Governor's House, built 



1 



71 

upon the site of Herod's fortress of Antonia, which 
was destroyed by Titus, during the siege of J erusalem, 
a.d. 70. It is highly probable that it was in this fort 
that Jesus was brought before Pilate, who, being 
at that time Governor of Judea, had his temporary 
residence in this stronghold when in J erusalem ; his 
ordinary place of abode being in Caesarea. The pre- 
sent structure is upon the ancient foundations, at the 
north-west angle of what had been the Temple Courts : 
it is now used as barracks, and from its flat roof we 
first beheld the site of Solomon's Temple, lying as if 
it were at our feet ; on the sacred spot now stands 
the Mosque of Omar. We had also a good view, 
from this point, of the Holy Sepulchre. We then 
passed along the Via Dolorosa; and I may here 
mention, that I found it much more satisfactory and 
gratifying to the feelings to accept the current tradi- 
tions of the inhabitants with regard to the different 
localities and scenes mentioned in Scripture, than to 
impugn, and cavil at, their correctness. This is the 
spirit, also, in which the majority of travellers ought 
to visit the holy region, whatever may be their pre- 
tensions to learning and knowledge ; for instance, 
when the pilgrim stands on Mount Calvary, where 
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is reared, what 
can it avail to dispute about the minutely exact 
locality? Jerusalem and its precincts are now so 



72 



limited, that the traditional spot cannot be very far 
distant from the real one, on which He suffered — He 

" Who shared on earth our common lot, 
But the world comprehended not 
His deity. 

^ >fC ^ Sfc 5fc 

Yes, — the glad messenger of love 
To guide us to our home above, 
The Saviour came ; 
Born amid mortal cares and fears, 
He suffered in this vale of tears 
A death of shame." 

<L# vJU kL* 

•y* *T* •T* 

Coplas de Manrique — Longfellow's translation. 

I confess that much of the delight, which I felt in 
Judea, would have been marred and lost, if I had 
visited it in a captious, carping or doubting spirit. 

The Ecce Homo arch is very conspicuous ; it crosses 
a street and supports a ruinous gallery, from which 
(according to prevalent tradition) Pilate shewed our 
Saviour to the multitude, when they exclaimed, 
" His blood be on us, and on our children!" And, 
standing here, it is impossible for the traveller not to 
reflect how fearfully this self-imprecated curse has 
been visited on the nation. 

Next morning, we arose betimes, and spent the 
whole day in visiting different places in this most 
interesting city, where, as Fisk observes, " Prophecy 



73 



has had its accomplishment, and Promise its fulfil- 
ment." 

We commenced our rounds by going out at the 
Zion Gate, where we were surrounded by those fright- 
fully wretched sufferers the Lepers, this being their 
quarter. Most of them were so fearfully mutilated, 
that they could only crawl after us to solicit alms. 
Certainly, until I witnessed this spectacle, I never 
formed any adequate conception of the dreadful na- 
ture and extent of this loathsome disease, so often 
mentioned in Scripture. It is impossible to erase 
from the memory the impression caused by the painful 
scene. It is only in a miserable locality, near this 
gate, that these wretched outcasts are allowed to take 
up their abode. At Ramleh, on my return, I saw 
one family suffering under this awful affliction, but 
no where else out of Jerusalem. 

After this, we passed Joab's tomb ; and proceeded 
through the valley of the Son of Hinnom, at the 
extremity of which is situated Tophet, infamous of 
old for the sacrifices offered to Molech — to propitiate 
whom children were made to pass through the fire, 
and other abominations were committed. We then 
visited, in succession, the Pool of Siloam, Absalom's 
tomb, the tombs of Zechariah and St. James, and 
also of J ehoshaphat ; from which last this great valley 



74 



has derived its name, though evidently under a mis- 
taken notion. 

Jerusalem lies, as it were, between these two 
valleys, and has another running across called the 
Tyropoeon Yalley, which separates the Hill of Zion 
on one side from Acra, and on the other from the 
Temple grounds. Over this declivity a bridge must 
at one time have existed, whereby the Kings of 
Judah might pass over to the Temple ; and, in fact, 
the spring of the arch is still discernible. We crossed 
the brook Kedron, and returned to the city by St. 
Stephen's gate ; we then proceeded to the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre, where we passed a consider- 
able time. The church is used by the Eoman Catho- 
lics, Greeks and Armenians ; and is very gorgeously 
decorated, especially that part of it, which is shewn 
as the tomb of Joseph, in which the body of Jesus 
was laid. 

I had never before witnessed the ceremonies of 
the Greek Church ; they appear to me to resemble 
strongly those of the Latin — the chief difference 
between the two churches consisting in the calendar. 
The Greeks retain the old style, repudiate the use of 
images and the doctrine of purgatory, admit the laity 
to communion in both kinds, and sanction the mar- 
riage of the secular clergy. 



75 



On the following day, we again left the city, pass- 
ing through St. Stephen's gate ; we thence descended 
a very steep declivity to the brook Kedron, which 
we crossed by a bridge, — and, having visited the 
Garden of Gethseraane, we soon found ourselves 
ascending the Mount of Olives. The very name of 
Gethsemane, in such a vicinity, excites feelings of 
intense interest ; but the Christian traveller can 
hardly rest satisfied with the assertion, that the 
circumscribed enclosure within stone walls, now 
exhibited by the Latin Monks, as the scene of 
the occurrences of that dread night, is the genuine 
Gethsemane. In fact the Greeks show, in opposition, 
another space lately inclosed ; but the Olive trees in 
this are only in their infancy, while those in the 
Latin enclosure are evidently of great age. The 
probability, I think, is that, at the time of Christ's 
sojourn on earth, the whole valley was in a state of 
culture, and that the garden so-called was not con- 
fined to such a limited space, but extended over the 
cultivated ground. 

The ascent to the Mount of Olives, on this side, is 
very precipitous, and on the summit stands the Church 
of the Ascension, now a mosque. From the top of 
this building there is a magnificent view, bounded by 
the mountains of Moab, — the intervening space in- 
cluding the city of Jericho, the outline of the Jordan, 



76 



and the Dead Sea looking like molten lead. The 
bold bluff of the mountains of Moab is remarkably- 
striking, so abrupt and yet so clearly defined, with 
the Dead Sea at their base, that they seem within a 
few thousand yards, though, in reality, they are some 
twenty miles distant. From the summit of one of 
these, Moses was permitted, before his death, to 
view the Promised Land ; though the place of his 
sepulture was never discovered, and the Israelites, 
prone u to start aside like a broken bow," were 
thereby prevented from offering idolatrous rites to 
the remains, or at the tomb of their great Lawgiver. 

We next visited the Jews' Place of Wailing, 
where they are permitted to come, every Friday, 
and mourn over the foundations of the Temple. The 
place, where they meet for this purpose, is on the 
external side, where there are exposed to view five 
courses of immense stones, each about twenty feet in 
length. These so exactly resemble the tiers of stone 
in the walls of Abraham's tomb at Hebron, that there 
can be no doubt .of their great antiquity ; and, in 
fact, the tomb of the patriarch was re-constructed, or 
inclosed, by Solomon. The Temple itself was razed 
to the ground, but part of the foundations still re- 
main ; and to this spot, where these are visible, the 
Jews flock to weep and wail over their lost temple 
and departed glory, kissing the stones and reciting 



77 



texts from the Old Testament. Here they read the 
Penitential Psalms and the Lamentations of Jere- 
miah, presenting a vivid picture of their abject and 
degraded condition. 

The Jews resident in the Holy City do not exceed 
six thousand in number ; they are mostly of Spanish 
origin, and very poor. Their ancestors were driven 
out of Spain by the short-sighted policy of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, towards the close of the fifteenth cen- 
tury ; and their descendants still speak a kind of 
corrupt Spanish, and with the exception of a few, 
they are in a miserable condition. The five chapters 
of the Lamentations of Jeremiah present a true, 
though sad, picture of the present state of J erusalem 
and its Jewish inhabitants. The very opening of 
the book is thrillingly accurate : — "How doth the 
city sit solitary, that was full of people ! how is she 
become as a widow ! she that was great among the 
nations, and princess among the provinces, how is 
she become tributary ! She weepeth sore in the night, 
and her tears are on her cheeks." — And again : 
" Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, 
and because of great servitude : she dwelleth among 
the heathen, she findeth no rest : all her persecutors 
overtook her between the straits." 

" It is a touching scene/' (says the writer in Murray's Hand- 
book, in eloquent terms,) " which presents itself to the stranger, 



78 



every Friday, on this retired spot, the Place of Wailing ; Jews of 
both sexes, of all ages, and from every quarter of the earth, raise 
tip a united cry of lamentation over a desolated and dishonoured 
sanctuary. Old men may fee seen tottering up to these massive 
stones, kissing them with fond rapture, burying their faces in the 
joints and cavities, while tears stream down their cheeks, and 
accents of deepest sorrow burst from their trembling lips ! " 

During my brief sojourn in Jerusalem, I was 
fortunate enough to be admitted to their principal 
Synagogue, on the Day of Atonement. A large 
number of wealthy Jews, from all parts of the world, 
were present 5 for it is a prevalent custom, among the 
scattered race, to visit the Holy City at this season. 
We were surprised at seeing so many of these zealous 
Israelites clad in gorgeous garments, and were forcibly 
reminded of the beautiful painting (by Holman Hunt) 
of u Finding Our Lord in the Temple," in which the 
dresses of the Rabbis and the attendants are repre- 
sented as very rich and brilliant. When we entered, 
we could not find seats ; but one of our party, Mr. 
Brown, of St. Louis in the United States, a very 
good linguist, was recognised by a Spanish Rabbi, 
who happened to be expounding the Scriptures at 
the time. Mr. Brown had crossed from Marseilles 
to Alexandria in company with this same Rabbi, 
and had made his acquaintance. When he perceived 
that we could find no seats, he paused in his discourse, 
and said a few words to another person, who was with 



79 



him in the reading-desk or raised dais, in the middle 
of the building ; and we were invited to take our 
seats alongside of them, one of our number being a 
Minister of the Gospel. Few Christians, probably, 
have ever been so favored in a synagogue ; for the 
Jews are jealous and intolerant in such respects, and 
the eyes of many seemed to look upon us as unduly 
privileged. We remained, with our hats on, for an 
hour and a half ; and during this time we witnessed 
the very interesting ceremony of the elevation of the 
Law. The parchments are carried round, and the 
people touch the fringe, kissing their fingers after- 
wards. 

No women were in the building — they remain 
outside at the windows ; and it would appear that, 
in matters spiritual at least, they are regarded or 
treated as inferior to the male sex. I have, since my 
return, been informed by way of explanation, that 
the ark, in which the Pentateuch is deposited, is 
considered as a holy place, and can only be ap- 
proached by the male line of the priestly family of 
Aaron; that on the Day of Atonement (on which 
anniversary I was present), on the Festival of the 
New -Year, and some other stated occasions, the 
Parchments are carried round, the Priest repeating, 
" This is the Law of Moses," and blessing the people 
in the words which are directed to be used, in the 



80 



6th chapter of the Book of Numbers: — "The Lord 
bless thee, and keep thee : The Lord make his face 
shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : The 
Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give 
thee peace." 

The Jew has no longer High Priest, Sacrifice or 
Temple ; but he continues to live in hope, and, 
annually, numbers find their way to the Holy City, 
there to die, and to be buried in the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat, where (both Jew and Mahommedan 
believe) the final judgment will take place. 

In company with Mrs. Finn, — who, with her hus- 
band the Consul, takes great interest in matters con- 
nected with the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem, — I 
visited several schools and hospitals, founded, for the 
benefit of this ancient race, by the charity and liberality 
of English and Prussian protestants. These were all 
remarkably clean and tidy, in marked and pleasing 
contrast with every thing around them. 

Great efforts have been made, in a spirit of enlarged 
philanthropy, to induce the poor Jews to labour for a 
livelihood, instead of existing on the miserable pittance 
annually doled out to them, or the supplies of bread 
and other necessaries begged for and collected by 
the servants of the synagogues for the sustenance of 
the needy. A farm has been purchased, for the pro- 



81 



motion of this important purpose, by the Jerusalem 
Agricultural Association ; and from this well-inten- 
tioned project happy results are anticipated. Sir 
Moses Montefiore has done much towards founding 
schools in Jerusalem, for the benefit of his impover- 
ished co-religionists. He is also, at present, in con- 
junction with a wealthy Hebrew of New Orleans, 
building a large range of almshouses outside the Zion 
gate, and they have employed an English architect, 
to ensure the due accomplishment of their beneficent 
intentions. These wealthy and benevolent men de- 
serve high commendation for their charitable under- 
takings, and they do well to leave such memorable 
" Footprints on the sands of Time." 

Before leaving the Jews' quarter, I may state, 
that it is the most filthy and uninteresting part of 
the city, being literally " heaps of stone" and rub- 
bish. Taking up my prayer-book, I could not help 
reflecting how completely had been verified the words 
of the first verse of the seventy-ninth Psalm : — " 
God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, 
thy Holy Temple have they defiled ; and made Jeru- 
salem an heap of stones." 



Q 



CHAPTER VIII. 



JERUSALEM AND VICINITY — JERICHO AND THE 
DEAD SEA. 



On Sunday, the 1st of April, we attended the 
English Cathedral. The church was well filled ; the 
service was conducted most impressively; the singing 
was good, and an excellent sermon was preached by 
the Right Rev. Bishop Gobat, on the text (pecu- 
liarly appropriate) : u He was numbered among the 
transgressors." The Bishop's delivery was slow, but 
very distinct for a foreigner ; some of his hearers are 
said to complain that his discourses are rather long. 
I was not furnished with any letter to the Right 
Reverend Prelate, but he had the kindness to call 
and invite me to spend the evening with him ; I 
had, however, previously proceeded to the Jordan. 

The church is a very handsome building, though 
plain in style. The number of Protestants resident 

g2 



84 



in Jerusalem does not much exceed an hundred and 
fifty ; yet, at this season of the year, the congregation 
generally amounts to two or three hundred persons, 
so many English and American tourists constantly 
flocking to the Holy City at the time of Easter. The 
number of travellers from America is greatly in excess 
of that from Britain ; but all, being accounted of the 
same Anglo-Saxon origin, are treated alike, and meet 
with the same attention in the East. 

The Eussians are acquiring a large portion of the 
city, and are building a spacious embassy ; during 
my visit, they w r ere digging out the foundations, and 
had gone to a great depth, some twenty feet below 
the present surface, but had found nothing save 
rubbish and heaps of stones. The Eussians, indeed, 
seem as intent on acquiring a broad footing in Pales- 
tine, as the French are desirous of obtaining one in 
Syria and in Egypt. This eagerness probably arises, 
on the part of Eussia, from a cherished policy to 
extend the influence of the Greek Church ; for other- 
wise, in a political point of view, the possession of 
Judea must, from the rugged nature of the country 
and its almost impassable roads, be little worth. 

On the 2nd of April, Mr. Brown, young Denny 
«nd myself, after an early breakfast, started for 
Jericho, Jordan, and the Dead Sea. We were in all 



85 



a formidable party, for there is still, in going down to 
Jericho, some danger of "falling among thieves." 
We were accordingly accompanied by a Sheikh, or 
Head of a Jordan tribe, mounted on a superb Arab, 
and armed to the teeth. Our infantry consisted of 
two Arab boys, clad in coats of sheep-skin — their 
only uniform — and armed with muskets about seven 
feet long. Then there was our dragoman ; also, a 
cook, with other servants, and thirteen or fourteen 
mules and horses. Our excursion would, in all pro- 
bability, only extend to a three-days' journey ; but 
we took with us tables, chairs, iron-bedsteads, and, 
in fact, every article which we could have occasion 
to use. 

Woe to the traveller who essays to make this 
journey without the protection of the sheikh; when he 
gets to Jericho, some of the Arabs will make him re- 
pent of, and pay for, his temerity. The very day after 
we started, two Frenchmen, who were determined to 
resist the imposition, and were desirous to avoid the 
expense (about two dollars and a half each), were 
robbed of everything which they had with them. A 
few weeks previously, the Consul at Aleppo paid a 
visit to the land of Moab, on the other side of the 
J ordan ; and, although he had a numerous escort with 
him, he was not only robbed of everything, but was 



86 



obliged to send to Beyrout for a large sum of money 
as a ransom. 

The author of "Eothen" describes his excursion 
to that region, but apparently his own hardihood, 
and the smallness of his retinue, proved his safety ; 
for the utter indifference, which he manifested, 
conjoined with these other causes, might induce the 
Arabs to consider him no great quarry. 

On our way, we passed through Bethany, and 
visited the tomb of Lazarus ; and then entered on 
our journey in good earnest. The road soon becomes, 
as it has been described, dreary and toilsome, running 
among white desolate hills, and wild rugged val- 
leys, without a tree or shrub, or green grass-tuft, to 
relieve the eye. It has been justly remarked, that 
it would be almost insupportable, were it not for the 
associations connected with it, and a certain sense of 
danger and adventure. We travelled on, however, 
under the dazzling and broiling sun, over rock and 
hill, while the glare of the white, stony sand, reflect- 
ing the sun's rays, rendered our progress very oppres- 
sive ; but, at length, after eight hours' riding, we 
found ourselves approaching Jericho. 

From Jerusalem to the Valley of the Jordan, the 
country is u a vast howling wilderness;" and the 
great plain of this renowned river is truly described, 



87 



as opening up suddenly before the eye of the tra- 
veller, with the green banks of the stream sunk down 
in a fissure in the middle of it, some thirteen hundred 
feet below the surface of the Mediterranean. On 
entering the valley, the mountain of Quarantania 
(according to tradition, the scene of Christ's tempta- 
tion) is pointed out to strangers ; and, as it rises 
abruptly, white and bare, from the verdant plain, it 
certainly presents a striking and interesting appear- 
ance. From this point to Jericho, patches of green 
are to be seen every here and there ; but the ground 
is covered with a coating of hard, dry sand. 

On our way, we visited the celebrated " Fountain 
of Elisha," now sometimes called the " Spring of the 
Sultan." This is supposed to be the place mentioned 
by Sir Walter Scott, in his admirable tale of the 
Crusaders "The Talisman," and called by him the 
"Diamond of the Desert," near which Soliman and Sir 
Kenneth reposed and refreshed themselves after their 
fierce encounter. I may be excused for quoting, on 
such an occasion, the beautiful passage immediately 
connected with a description of the well : — 

" They had now arrived at the knot of palm-trees and the 
fountain, which welled out from beneath their shade in sparkling 
profusion. We have spoken of a moment of truce in the midst of 
war ; and this, a spot of beauty in the midst of a sterile desert, 
was scarce less dear to the imagination. It was a scene, which 
perhaps elsewhere would have deserved little notice ; but as the 



88 



single speck in a boundless horizon, which promised the refresh- 
ment of shade and living water, — these blessings, held cheap where 
they are common, — rendered the fountain and its neighbourhood 
a little paradise. Some generous or charitable hand, ere yet 
the evil days of Palestine began, had walled in and arched over 
the fountain to preserve it from being absorbed in the earth or 
choked by the flitting clouds of dust, with which the least breath of 
wind covered the desert. * # * Stealing from under the 
arch, the waters were first received in a marble basin, much defaced 
indeed, but still cheering the eye by shewing that the place was 
anciently considered as a station, that the hand of man had been 
there, and that man's accommodation had been in some measure 
attended to. The thirsty and weary traveller was reminded by 
these signs, that others had suffered similar difficulties, reposed in 
the same spot, and doubtless found their way in safety to a more 
fertile country. Again, the scarce visible current which escaped 
from the basin, served to nourish the few trees, which surrounded 
the fountain ; and where it sunk into the ground and disappeared, 
its refreshing presence was acknowledged by a carpet of velvet 
verdure. 

v|» «J> kL» vL» <U <P/ vfy 

" Ere they remounted to resume their journey, the Christian 
Knight again moistened his lips, and dipt his hands in the living 
fountain, and said to his Pagan associate of the journey: — 'X 
would I knew the name of this delicious fountain, that I might 
hold it in my grateful remembrance; for never did water slake 
more deliciously a more oppressive thirst, than I have this day 
experienced.' — ' It is called in the Arabic language (answered the 
Saracen) by a name which signifies the Diamond of the Desert.' " 

Before proceeding to our tents, we visited the 
site of ancient Jericho ; here, we saw nothing but the 
remains of a dry mud-wall and some low mounds of 
rubbish. Being now tired and hungry, we quickly 
made our way to modern Jericho, as it is called, being 



89 



all that remains of the Jericho of the New Testament, 
a wretched and miserable collection of tumble-down 
huts. At the time, several hundred Russian pilgrims, 
accompanied by a regiment of Turks, were encamped 
outside the village, having just returned from bathing 
in the Jordan. 

Our dragoman had pitched our tents, and every- 
thing in due order ; we found, also, a capital din- 
ner ready for us, equal in every respect to such as 
we had at the hotel. After wandering for some time 
among the" Russian caravan, we were serenaded by 
a dozen Arabs, who sang and danced with great 
monotony, not forgetting the usual solicitations for 
backsheesh, which we gave ; and, retiring to our tents, 
we were soon asleep on our camp-bedsteads ; I 
am very sure of this, that I have seldom slept so 
soundly as I did, under the tent, in front of Jericho, 
after the wanderings of that day. 

Next morning we were early up, and soon on our 
way to the Jordan. The bridle-road, which leads to 
the banks, is very good, for these parts; so that we 
were able to canter along at a fair rate, and reached, 
without delay, this celebrated stream so often men- 
tioned in Holy Writ. Tradition assigns to the spot, 
at which we had arrived, the passage of the Israelites, 
as well as the baptism of our Saviour by John, his 



90 



forerunner. Here the Jordan is from sixty to eighty 
feet in breadth, very muddy, and runs as rapidly as 
a mill-sluice. We bathed in the stream, and did not 
omit to bring away some of the water. 

The reader may probably expect some descrip- 
tive details of this celebrated valley and river, and 
it might be satisfactory to transcribe these from the 
best authorities ; but such a task is hardly within 
the scope of the writer. It is sufficient to state, 
that the valley, in its full breadth, about ten miles, 
appears from our present position to be a long 
plain, inclosed on either side by bold and barren 
ridges, in the centre is the glen, through which 
the Jordan flows. This valley, once so noted for 
its fertility, for its palm-trees and balsams, has 
undergone a desolating change from long neglect and 
the fierce effects of a powerful sun on a locality so 
peculiarly situated, below the level of the sea. The 
Jordan itself flows through this glen at a depth of from 
fifty to eighty feet below the plain of the valley ; and 
this glen varies from two hundred to six hundred 
yards in breadth, its sides being rugged and abrupt. 
The banks of the river are conspicuously marked with 
shrubs, willows and reeds. The stream gradually 
widens, as it approaches its entrance into the Dead 
Sea, where the width is about one hundred and 
eighty yards, but the depth only three feet ; yet, 



91 



owing to the soft and slimy nature of the soil, there 
is no practicable ford. 

Striking across the plain from the spot where we 
had reached the Jordan, we arrived, after an hour's 
canter, at the shores of the Dead Sea, and rode fully a 
mile along this dull and dreary lake. Its length is 
stated at forty miles, and its breadth varies from five 
to nine, its depth being, in some places, upwards of 
two hundred fathoms ! With Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and the Cities of the Plain, buried in its abyss — with 
its own muddy and slimy shores, surrounded by cliffs 
of naked rock, the Lake of Asphaltites reigns amidst 
a most desolate and melancholy scene. Its waters, 
though acrid and bitter beyond conception, are beau- 
tifully clear ; and, in this respect, very different from 
those of the Jordan: their specific gravity is so 
considerably greater that that of the ocean, that it is 
not possible for the human body to sink in them. 

The surface of the Dead Sea, as I have already 
indicated, is upwards of 1300 feet below that of the 
Mediterranean. Situated at such a depth, with 
cliffs of limestone rising immediately from its waters, 
on the south and west, and with the mountains of 
Moab on the opposite side, girding the scene as with 
a wall, this extraordinary monument of God's judg- 
ment against the Cities of the Plain, presents a most 



92 



solemn picture of solitary desolation. No living ob- 
ject is discernible around ; — no fishes float beneath, 
no birds fly over the surface of its waters. Yet the 
popular stories about the poisonous exhalations rising 
therefrom are of a mythic origin. The nature of the 
climate and the effect of the sun's rays, in so sunken 
a locality, cause an immense evaporation and an 
almost insufferable heat. The former effect will ac- 
count for the disposal of the water that enters the 
lake, and the latter for the habitual absence of animal 
existence in its vicinity. We were, however, favored 
on this occasion with a refreshing wind ; and yet, 
from the shores of the Dead Sea to the Greek Con- 
vent of Mar Saba, whither we next proceeded, we 
had a very tiresome ride of four or five hours. 

During the whole day, from the time we left Jericho 
till we reached Mar Saba, we did not meet a living 
creature, except one solitary camel without a rider. 
There were now, on our road to the convent, preci- 
pices so steep and chasms so vast, that it was at 
times frightful to contemplate their nature. I gave 
my horse the reins, and trusted entirely to his sure 
footing ; but right glad were we to find ourselves, at 
length, within the extensive walls of the Convent of 
Mar Saba, which has been justly regarded, in the wild 
grandeur of its situation, as one of the most remark- 
able monastic institutions in Palestine. The large 



93 



and irregular edifices of the convent cover an im- 
mense space of ground, and are inclosed in and pro- 
tected by ranges of stone walls. There are rock 
terraces and patches of garden in every direction ; 
chambers, natural and artificial caves, chapels, and 
other apartments, every here and there, upon ledges 
of rock and elsewhere, on this once most notable site 
of oriental anchorites and ascetics. The tomb of St. 
Sabas is shewn in a small chapel, as also the den, in 
which this chief of anchorites spent the greater part 
of his life ; also several other cells consecrated by 
the odour of sanctity. The Reception Rooms are 
very good ; and we passed the afternoon very com- 
fortably in this secluded convent, so admirably situ- 
ated for solitude and separation from the busy scenes 
of life. We were politely conducted to all the sites 
and objects worthy of inspection ; and we certainly 
met with a most friendly reception. 

After an early breakfast, on the following morning, 
with our hospitable entertainers, we started on our 
way towards Bethlehem. When we had continued 
our ride for an hour, we came upon some very large 
flocks of goats and sheep, which very naturally re- 
minded us, on our approach to the birth-place of Jesus, 
of that simple and time-honoured hymn : — " While 
shepherds watched their flocks by night f or, accord- 
ing to the more modern version 



94 



" While humble shepherds watched their flocks 
On Bethlehem's plains, by night/' &c. 

On our way we had an excellent view of Jeru- 
salem, which appeared in the distance as perched 
on a mountain. I remarked, that, in approach- 
ing the Holy City by the Jaffa Gate, one is 
apt to imagine, from the proximity of the Mount of 
Olives, that the city is on comparatively flat, level 
ground ; but at the distance at which we now viewed 
it, the interval of two hundred feet between the walls 
and Olivet was not perceptible, so that the words of 
the Psalmist were brought forcibly to the mind: — 
" As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the 
Lord is round about his people from henceforth even 
for ever." — Psalm cxxv. 2. 

We soon had Bethlehem in sight, — a beautiful 
village on the slope of a hill, surrounded by terraces 
and gardens, — and the immediate vicinity, which 
seemed to be, to all appearance, the most luxuriant 
part of Palestine that we had yet seen. The terraces 
appeared to be carefully cultivated and kept, and are 
abundantly adorned with olive-trees, fig-trees, and 
the vine. The great Convent, on the eastern side, 
from its vast extent and well-chosen site, has a 
very striking and commanding look. There are 
Latin, Greek and Armenian conventual communities 
in connection with the Church of the Nativity — a 



95 



large and imposing edifice. We were most punc- 
tiliously conducted by a Monk over every spot of 
interest, and our guide shewed us every place 
connected with the life of the Redeemer, which 
tradition has assigned to the birth-place of our Lord. 
There is no doubt that the most beautiful part of 
the building was erected by the Empress Helena, in 
the early part of the fourth century; and it is, there- 
fore, of great antiquarian interest. The Monk con- 
ducted us down a winding staircase to the Grotto of 
the Nativity, descending (as it were) into a vault 
hewn in the rock. Here he pointed out the identical 
spot, where our Lord is said to have been born. It 
is indicated by a marble slab fixed in the pavement, 
with a silver star in the centre, round which are the 
words : — " Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus 
natus est." For details concerning the adjoining 
chapels of St. Joseph and of the Holy Innocents, the 
u Milk Grotto," and other particulars connected with 
this interesting locality, I must refer my readers to 
more lengthened compilations; while (according to 
my original purpose) I hasten to describe my journey, 
and shew my Canadian countrymen what may be 
achieved within a given time ; and this, too, without 
hurrying heedlessly over the ground, or making more 
haste than good speed. 



96 



Returning by Rachel's tomb, — for it will be remem- 
bered that Jacob buried his beloved wife "in the 
way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem/' — we reached 
Jerusalem a little after noon. On our arrival, we 
were surprised to find the hotel quite full, although 
when we left it, there was merely our own party ; but 
mine host said he was always subject to such sudden 
changes. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MOUNT ZION HEBRON EASTER DAY IN JERUSALEM, 

MOSQUES OF OMAR AND EL-AKSA. 



On returning to Jerusalem, our first visit was to 
Mount Zion, which lies outside the walls of the 
modern city. This celebrated hill, the largest of 
those, on which Jerusalem was built, varies in height 
above the adjoining valleys from 150 to 300 feet. 
The slopes, with their terraces, are covered with 
olive-trees. On the summit a level track extends 
from the tomb of David to the citadel ; here a Mosque 
has long stood, covering the sepulchre of the ancient 
kings of Judah. Into this Mosque strangers, unless 
they are followers of Mahommed, are not permitted 
to enter; but leave is not withheld to their visit- 
ing the Coenaculum— the Upper Chamber — where 
(according to tradition) our Lord instituted the Last 
Supper, and where the Apostles are said to have met 
after the Resurrection. 



98 



The privilege of passing Good Friday, in the 
Holy City, was a subject for grateful and solemn 
congratulation. To be, on such an anniversary, in 
the very city and near the very spot where the great 
atonement was offered, was an event calculated to 
make a deep and powerful impression on the mind ; 
and, I trust, that it was with subdued and suitable 
feelings we attended the Protestant Church in Jeru- 
salem that forenoon. 

In the afternoon, Dr. Coates of the East India Com- 
pany's service, Mr. Clarke of the 95th regiment, Mr. 
Brown, two other gentlemen and myself, started on 
horseback to visit Hebron. Passing Rachel's tomb, 
already glanced at, we soon arrived at the Pools of 
Solomon. These are three immense reservoirs in ex- 
cellent preservation, situated in a line the one below 
the other. They are described as having been partly 
cut in the rocky bottom of the valley, and are built of 
large hewn stones, certainly reminding the visitor of 
the works ascribed to the great monarch whose name 
they bear. The water is supplied from a subterranean 
fountain, and conducted by ingenious and elaborate 
means. A large khan stands near the Upper Pool 
it seemed quite deserted, although it was said to be 
occupied by the guardian of the waters. We could 
not, in common with many others, forbear from 
quoting, on such an occasion, the words of Solomon 



99 



himself, reflecting on the vanity of all human under- 
takings : — " I made me great works ; I builded me 
houses ; I planted me vineyards : I made me gardens 
and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds 
of fruits : I made me pools of tvater to water there- 
with the wood that bringeth forth trees." — Eccle- 
siastes, ii. 4. 

From the Pools to Hebron the roads were very 
bad ; and it was eight o'clock ere we reached this 
ancient city, the oldest, perhaps, in the world. It is 
mentioned in Scripture before Damascus ; although 
the latter, when first alluded to by name, is spoken 
of as a place well-known, and, apparently, of some 
note. In Hebron David established the seat of 
government after the death of Saul, and kept it there 
for seven years. But this celebrated site derives its 
greatest interest from the associations, which have 
descended from many hundreds of years before 
that period, in connection with the history of the 
Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here the 
great father of the faithful dwelt ; here, while his 
numerous herds and flocks fed on the fertile pastures 
around, he pitched his tent beneath the oak of 
Mamre, and entertained the heavenly messengers ; 
here Jehovah vouchsafed to talk, face to face, with 
his chosen servant, when He announced the fate of 
the doomed Cities of the Plain. 

h2 



100 



Our tents were pitched close to the town j and 
early next morning, before breakfast, we visited the 
Cave of Machpelah, which, with the field, Abraham 
bought as a burial place. Over the sepulchres of the 
three great Patriarchs and their wives, Solomon built 
a massive structure of stone, 200 feet long by 150 in 
breadth. The stones are of great size, upwards of 
twenty feet long, bevelled and hewn smooth, exactly 
similar to those still visible in the foundations of the 
Temple at Jerusalem. The structure has been con- 
verted into a mosque ; and, like that of Mecca, and 
one in Constantinople, it cannot be entered except 
by the faithful. 

The oak, which rears its branches in the Plain of 
Mamre, is a fine, hale old tree, measuring about twenty 
five feet in girth. Many persons doubt, with plausible 
reasoning, that this could possibly be the oak under 
which Abraham received the angels j yet, situated as 
it is, probably in the identical spot in the Plain of 
Mamre where the Patriarchs pitched their tents, it is 
surely very pardonable to indulge in the traditional 
belief. The celebrated tree in the Crystal Palace at 
Sydenham, or rather its bark, brought from Cali- 
fornia, is reputed to be four thousand years' old ! 
a The existing oak-tree of Mamre" (says the author of 
ihe Handbook) " has no marks of such high antiquity, 
nor is there any early written testimony to give pro- 



101 



bability to the theory." "But" (he adds in another 
place) " though we have no ancient record of this 
venerable tree, we cannot but recognise it as a repre- 
sentative of the oaks of Mamre, under whose shade 
Abraham communed with his Creator, and received 
angels as guests. It is the last tree of that sacred 
forest; and as such, all honour to its noble stem and 
wide -spreading boughs!" Hebron possesses the 
highest site among the towns of Syria, being nearly 
3000 feet above the level of the sea. 

Dr. Coates and myself had intended visiting the 
farm at Urtas, to witness the luxuriance of the soil 
when properly cultivated, We were, however, unable 
to do so ; but at the Greek Convent, between Jeru- 
salem and Bethlehem, we had an opportunity of see- 
ing what industry and care could accomplish. With 
such proof of the fertility of the soil before his eyes, 
no person can reasonably doubt that, with due culture 
and perseverance, (and the curse withdrawn,) this 
land would still be "a land flowing with milk and 
honey." We returned to Jerusalem by Solomon's 
Pools and Bethlehem. 

The next day was the festival of the Eesurrection. 
We appreciated with sincere gratitude the oppor- 
tunity, which we thus enjoyed, of celebrating Easter- 
day in the Holy City, — of attending church in the 



102 



earthly Zion, and there participating in the appointed 
commemoration of our great Redeemer's death, I 
hope it will not be for a moment supposed, from the 
expression of such feelings, that I consider there is 
any greater efficacy in the Holy Communion here 
than elsewhere ; for God is present everywhere. Still 
such scenes, and the associations connected with them, 
impart a feeling of peculiar interest : the place is 
holy ground, where the shoes must be taken from the 
feet, and the heart must bend in adoration and thank- 
fulness to the God of mercy. 

Prayers were read by Dr. Goold, an Archdeacon 
from Ireland — a most exemplary clergyman ; the 
Communion service was conducted by the Bishop, 
and an excellent sermon was preached by Dr. Craw- 
ford. Though the whole service lasted three hours 
and a half — from the necessity of administering the 
Sacrament in different tongues — we did not find it at 
all irksome. It was a pleasing; and a most interesting 
sight to see the Communion administered in the Hebrew 
tongue to converted Jews, clothed in their rich eastern 
dresses ; and also, in their own vernacular language, to 
Arabs, clad in their simple and scanty covering. After 
the service, I accompanied Dr. Coates to Bethany ; and 
in returning, we seated ourselves on the Mount of 
Olives, where the doctor read, for our mutual edifi- 



103 



cation, several portions of the Bible, appropriate to 
the locality ; and, among others, that in which our 
Saviour denounced the infatuated city. 

We then visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
Of this edifice so many detailed accounts have been 
published, that I will adhere to my prescribed rule. 
The Holy Sepulchre itself is in the centre of the 
Rotunda : when we arrived at the entrance, we took 
off our shoes (according to custom) and entered the 
tomb. The apartment is very small ; and the crowds 
of people were so numerous and so eager to gain 
admittance, that it was impossible to indulge in any 
suitable train of meditation. In the evening, the 
Rev. Mr. Murray held a service in the school-room, 
after the form of the Free Church ; there was a 
numerous congregation, and all present seemed much 
pleased and edified, especially with the able discourse 
delivered on the occasion, which was most appropriate 
to the day and place. 

Until within a few years it was almost impossible 
to gain admittance into the far-famed Mosque of 
Omar, the most conspicuous object which now occu- 
pies the site of the Temple, the summit of Mount 
Moriah. Though, in 1856, it was understood that 
the sacred edifice would in future be open to the 
traveller on the payment of one pound sterling, yet 



104 



there is still considerable difficulty in the way ; and, 
indeed, even now, if a stranger is found in any of 
the avenues leading directly to the Mosque, he runs a 
risk of being insulted and very uncourteously treated. 
At the time of my sojourn in Jerusalem, the Pacha 
was represented as being very intolerant on this 
point and in other such matters ; and we were told 
that it was impossible to obtain leave of admission. 
Fortunately, however, for us, the Pacha required, 
at this time, some favor, from Mr. Finn, the Consul ; 
and this gentleman, in return, procured a firman, 
sanctioning the admission of seven or eight persons 
to the interior of the Mosque. The Consul was kind 
enough to include me in the privileged number ; and 
thus, on the following morning, I was admitted within 
the Temple grounds, in company with Sir George 
and Lady Ramsay, Mr. Murray, Mr. Brown, Dr. 
Coates, and two young Englishmen. We were met 
at the gate by the Sheikh ; and, on presenting our 
firman, with seven sovereigns, were allowed to pass 
the barrier. 

The Mosque of Omar is certainly a splendid edifice, 
even more beautiful, in my opinion, than the Metro- 
politan Mosque of St. Sophia in Constantinople. The 
history of this famous site, and of the platform which 
it now occupies, is long and intricate. It would 
be far beyond the object of these pages to trace the 



105 



record through the nearly four thousand years which 
have passed since the father of the faithful erected 
an altar on the spot, on which to sacrifice his son 
Isaac, in obedience to J ehovah's command : here was 
the threshing floor of Araunah the J ebusite ; here 
stood the Temple of Solomon, with the Holy of 
Holies ; and here taught a greater than Solomon, as 
one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

This renowned locality, as our neighbours might 
justly term it, is now called Haram, or Haram-esh- 
sharlf — "The Noble Sanctuary;" it is equal in extent 
to about one-fifth of the whole city, and certainly 
the finest part of it. The platform is evidently, in a 
great measure, artificial, and much more spacious than 
was the site of the Temple. In the centre rises the 
great mosque with its magnificent dome. The interior 
is certainly very beautiful ; the splendid tiles and 
coloured glass, and the great gilt dome itself, dazzle 
and delight the visitor. Within is the summit of the 
natural rock, occupying the greater part of the space 
beneath the dome, and venerated by all as a most 
sacred spot. It is exposed to view, and has an awn- 
ing over it, The following graphic description of the 
Mosque is extracted from the Hand-book of Syria 
and Palestine : — 

" It is the Kiiobet-es-sukhrah, or the Dome of the Rock, — for 
such is the name of the central niosk, and its spacious area, which 



106 

give such an exquisite charm to every view of Jerusalem from the 
Mount of Olives ; and perhaps there is not one point, where we 
see it to such advantage, as that where the road from Bethany 

just tops the southern shoulder of the hill This was the 

view which burst on the Saviour's gaze, on the day of his tri- 
umphant entry The Dome of the Bock is by far the most 

beautiful, and, on account of its site, the most interesting building 
in the Holy City. Crowning the very summit of Moriah, its 
graceful proportions and noble dome strike the eye from afar ; but 
when from the brow of Olivet we look down on its cloistered courts, 
carpeted with verdure, dotted with arches and colonnades, and 
miniature cupolas, and tall cypresses, the building itself rising 
proudly over all, glittering in the sun-light and reflecting every 
colour of the rainbow, — we feel we are indeed in that glorious 
East, which fancy pictured, when we used to revel in the Arabian 
Nights: 1 

We then proceeded to visit the Mosque El-Aksa, 
which is also a handsome building, having been ori- 
ginally erected by Justinian as a church, in honor of 
the Virgin Mary. When the great Caliph, Omar, 
took Jerusalem, having been informed, in reply to 
his inquiries, that this edifice was on the site of the 
Temple, he prayed in it ; and since his time it has 
been regarded, by the Moslems, with great veneration, 
and the spot where Omar prayed is still devoutly 
shewn. We paid a visit to the very remarkable and 
extensive vaults, on which the area of the Temple 
stands. These are formed by large piers and pillars, 
spanned by arches ; and they appear to be in as per- 
fect a state as when the Temple was reconstructed by 
Herod. They are generally regarded as antecedent 



107 



to that monarch's age, though they may have been 
repaired, and some of them possibly built, by him. 

As my sojourn in the Holy City now draws to a 
close, I may with propriety take the opportunity of 
recommending, which I do in very strong terms, the 
two engravings of u Jerusalem in her Grandeur and 
in her Fall," executed by Selous, and published by 
Beeforth, Scarborough, England. I do not think 
that I ever saw a more truthful delineation of any 
place than that of Modern Jerusalem, as she now is. 
To depict what the City was in her grandeur must 
depend in some measure on the imagination of the 
artist ; but Mr. Selous has paid due attention to the 
authority of Scripture, as well as of Josephus and 
other ancient authors. This tribute I consider justly 
due to Mr. Selous, who is a perfect stranger to me, 
as is also the publisher, The original drawing^ 
from which the engravings are copied, are entitled 
"Selous' Two Grand Pictures of Jerusalem, — (1) In 
her Grandeur, A. d. 33, with Christ's Triumphant 
Entry into the Holy City ; (2) In her Fall, as now 
viewed from the Mount of Olives." 



CHAPTER X. 



DEPARTURE FEOM JERUSALEM. JAFFA BEYROUT — - . 

TRIPOLI ALEXANDRETTE. 

On my last evening in Jerusalem, I enjoyed a pleasant 
party at Mrs. Finn's, to whose kindness, as well as to 
that of her husband, the Consul, I felt much indebted; 
they certainly did all that lay in their power to make 
the fortnight, which I spent in the City of David and 
its vicinity, pass in a useful and an agreeable manner. 

Although, in former years, I was a tolerable 
horseman, I had not latterly enjoyed much prac- 
tice ; and when I was at Gibraltar, I declined a ride 
to the Cork-wood — a distance of some fifteen miles 
either way. But after I had been ten days on 
an Arab, I could manage long distances ; so that, by 
the time I got to Constantinople, I accomplished, in 
company with Mr. Hill, thirty miles between luncheon 
and dinner. These remarks are intended as a prelude 



110 



to the announcement of my determination to proceed 
to Jaffa on horseback, so as to get over the ground 
in one day, instead of two, the time generally taken. 
I left Jerusalem at 9 o'clock a. m., accompanied by a 
young lad with my carpet-bag on a mule. I moved 
along briskly, and cantering in places^ where formerly 
on going up we could scarcely walk without fear, I 
reached Jaffa by 6 o'clock. When I was about half way 
on my trip, and had left my muleteer far behind, I 
met two horsemen. On descrying me, they set 
their horses at full gallop, and, with their lances in 
rest, approached very rapidly. I had no arms about 
me ; but quietly waited their arrival, smoking a cigar, 
and holding an umbrella over my head for protection 
from the intense heat of the sun. When they came 
up, one went on my right, and the other on my left ; 
they grinned and laughed, and were evidently sur- 
prised that they had not frightened the Englishman. 
About an hour afterwards an Arab issued from the 
side of the hill ; and whether I galloped or walked my 
horse, he kept up with me for an hour. Upon the 
whole, therefore, I was not sorry, on arriving at the 
foot of the hill-country, to find myself at a khan, 
w T here coffee was provided. I happened to have 
about me some thirty pounds, during my long ride; 
and I am thus induced to confess that I had run 
considerable risk, perhaps foolishly, and certainly 



Ill 



unnecessarily, in undertaking to ride such a long 
distance alone.* The boy with my baggage was, at 
least, an hour behind me. 

I was seated, next morning, at breakfast In a very 
tolerable hotel, kept in Jaffa by a Maltese, when I 
was suddenly accosted by a gentleman, calling me 
aloud by name, in these terms: — "Well, the next 
time we meet will be, I suppose, at Madagascar or 
the Sandwich Islands ! " Now, it had so happened, 
that the gentleman who addressed this remark to me 
(Lord Mark Kerr), when he was on Lord Elgin's 
staff in Canada, had met me in several of the most 
out-of-the-way places in almost every part of the 
Province, and subsequently in England also ; so that 
at our last rencontre, five or six years ago, he had 
rather strikingly exclaimed : — u Well, I suppose our 
next place of meeting will be Jerusalem ! " 

From Jaffa we sailed in a French steamer, the 
"Mersey," in which we formed a small party of four, 
including Mr. Hill of Cardiff, Mr. Peyton, formerly 
of the Dragoon Guards, Mr. Alexander of Bristol, 
and myself. The steamer, sailing along the Syrian 
coast and pausing at some of the principal stations or 

* A young gentleman from Quebec, now in Palestine, had lately 
a very narrow escape from robbers, from having lagged behind his 
party. 



112 



sites, was to convey us at length as far as Smyrna. 
We were thus to be some fifteen or sixteen days to- 
gether, and we certainly had no reason to regret that 
our number was so small ; for, with our state-rooms, 
large saloon, and agreeable fellowship, we enjoyed all 
the advantages which a yacht could afford, without 
any of the annoyances attendant on a larger or more 
crowded vessel. It produced no ordinary sensation 
in the mind, thus to pass along, on board of a modern 
steamer, such renowned sites as those of Carmel, 
Akka, Tyre and Sidon ; but steadily the vessel pro- 
ceeded on her course, and we arrived on the follow- 
ing morning in the Bay of Beyrout. This sea-port 
of Syria — the Berytus of the Greeks and Romans, 
originally founded by the Phoenicians — appears to 
great advantage as viewed from the sea. It was 
indeed refreshing to us, after having been accustomed 
to the sterile and desolate appearance of southern 
Palestine, to look upon the town and vicinity full of 
gardens and orchards, miles of land covered with the 
mulberry and other fruit-trees, and the Lebanon 
towering over all. 

It had been to me a matter of deep regret, that I 
was unable to take the usual route from Jerusalem to 
Damascus and Palmyra by land ; whereby I should 
have had the opportunity of visiting Mount Tabor, 
the Lake of Genesareth, Nazareth (so often men- 



113 



tioned in the New Testament, but never in the 
Old), the sites of the towns and villages on the 
lake so intimately connected with Christ's ministry ; 
Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in Syria except 
the loftiest peaks of Lebanon, and numerous other 
scenes replete with interest and with sacred and his- 
torical associations. Yet, in one sense, I had just 
reason also to refrain from expressions of regret or 
complaint ; for several gentlemen, who left Jerusalem 
a,bout the same time with myself, on the more interest- 
ing route, narrowly escaped serious danger, and were, 
with difficulty, hurried away from Damascus, on the 
breaking out of the troubles, which immediately fol- 
lowed our visit to Syria. 

At Beyrout we remained three days ; and, 
although we did not proceed so far as the re- 
nowned Cedars of Lebanon, yet we ascended 
the mountain ranges some ten miles ( w tell 
it not in Grath " ) in a modern omnibus ! The 
French, who are, beyond doubt, gradually acquiring 
a sure footing in Upper Syria, where lies (according 
to many) the true route through the desert to 
Bagdad and India, have obtained a concession for 
the construction of a highway from Beyrout to 
Damascus. They already engross the greater propor- 
tion of the trade in this quarter, and are becoming, 



114 

from day to day, more intimately connected with the 
country ; indeed they seem fairly settled in it, and 
are not likely to relinquish the hold which they have 
acquired in so important a locality. 

If, in ascending the Lebanon and looking upwards, 
the traveller finds the prospect bleak and dreary ; it 
is very different, when he has attained a certain 
height and looks downwards. The whole slope is 
very beautiful, covered with terraces overspread with 
the vine, and with orchards of fig-trees and apricots; 
with fine W 7 alnut-trees interspersed here and there. 
u Villages" (as the Manual expresses it) "are seen 
on every side, clinging to cliffs and nestling in wooded 
dells ; while convents, like feudal castles of bygone 
days, crown the peak. " 

Although we did not reach the Cedars, the reader 
may expect, and might be disappointed in not finding, 
some account of these time-honoured trees, or their 
representatives at the present day. It is strange that 
the accounts, of travellers and professed eye-witnesses 
differ very considerably in description and impression. 
We cannot, however, do better than transcribe what 
the accurate author of Murray's Handbook has written 
on the subject : — 

" At the head of Wady Kadisha there is a vast recess in the 
central ridge of Lebanon, some eight miles in diameter. Above it 



115 



rise the loftiest summits in Syria, streaked with perpetual snow. 
The summits are white and rounded, and the sides descend in 
naked uniform slopes, in the form of a semicircle. In the very 
centre of this recess, on a little irregular knoll, stands the clump of 
cedars. They are all alone. There is not another tree in sight. 
There is scarcely a bush or patch of verdure on the surrounding 
acclivities. "When we see them from a distance, we feel bitter 
disappointment, for they look like a speck on the vast mountain ; 
but, on entering the grove, all feelings of disappointment vanish. 
Then the beautiful fan-like branches and graceful pyramidal forms 
of the younger trees ; the huge trunks of the patriarchs and their 
great gnarled branches extending far on each side, and interlacing 
with their brethren ; and the sombre shade they make in a blaze 
of light, — all tend to excite feelings of highest admiration. And 
when we think of their high antiquity, their ancient glory, the 
purposes to which they were applied, we can comprehend the won- 
drous attraction, that has for centuries drawn numbers of pilgrims 
from the ends of the earth to this lonely spot. — The whole grove 
is scarcely now half a mile in circumference, and may contain 
about 400 trees of all sizes, — the young ones mostly on the out- 
skirts, and the oldest in the centre. Only a few, perhaps a dozen, 
very ancient trees remain. There are, however, 30 or 40 others 
of very respectable dimensions ; some of them three, four and five 
feet in diameter. One or two of the oldest are upwards of forty 
feet in girth ; but the trunks are short and irregular. They are 
much broken and disfigured ; partly by the snows of winter, but 
chiefly by the vandalism of visitors," 

Among the many beautiful and interesting rides in 
the vicinity of Beyrout, we chose, on the following 
day, the ride to the Nahr-el-Kelb, or " Dog- River." 
We rode along the beach, mostly at a gallop, though 
the sand was soft, — a circumstance which made it 
rather fatiguing for the horses. In about an hour 
and a half, we reached the pretty sparkling river, 

i2 



116 



which takes its name from the supposed likeness of a 
large rock near it to a wolf or a dog ; — its more 
ancient name was Lycos (wolf) ; but respecting the 
origin of the denomination some doubt exists, and 
there are several traditions. 

As the banks of the river are approached, their 
height and precipitous nature become apparent and 
are very striking ; but the curiosities of art and 
antiquity here vie with those of nature. On the 
smooth faces of the rock, by the side of the ancient 
road, several sculptured tablets are to be seen, with 
Roman, Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions, — some 
of them as plain as on the day when they were first 
chiselled. These are satisfactory proofs, that the 
highway through Syria, in this direction, must have 
run along the tract of this ancient road from the 
remotest ages, affording access to the Assyrian and 
Egyptian forces, and, in later times, to the Roman 
legions. 

When in this part of the country, we witnessed 
nothing indicative of the fierce and cruel conduct 
ascribed to the Druses against the Maronites., Al- 
though we may not consider the former so muph to 
blame as the latter, it would still prove a great fact 
and an important object, if the Turkish power, in 
these parts, should find itself sufficiently strong t& 



117 



restore order and maintain peace among the different 
classes. 

The French have for years been extending their 
commercial relations with this, the finest part of the 
East. Their excellent line of steamers, known as the 
Messagerie Imperiale, or Postal Line, largely sub- 
sidized by government, has given them an immense 
advantage over the British in this quarter. The trade 
of Damascus and the interior is almost exclusively in 
their hands ; and when the macadamized road, which 
a French company have obtained leave to construct 
between Beyrout and Damascus, is completed, this 
trade, as well as the influence of their fellow-country- 
men, will be greatly increased in these regions. The 
same quantity of goods may then be transported, 
with ease, in a few hours, over a distance, which 
would now take loaded camels some two or three 
days to accomplish. The gradients of this road are 
formidable, as may be readily supposed, when the 
heights of Lebanon are taken into consideration. 
But, although several travellers have ventured to 
cast ridicule on the attempts of the French company, 
I must acknowledge that I have seldom travelled on 
a better road, though it is decidedly rather too nar- 
row. The present troubles, I should think, will tend 
to encourage the projectors ; for I feel convinced that 
they are assisted by government. And should the 



118 

road once be completed to Damascus, there is little 
doubt that it will be carried farther than John Bull 
would even now care to dream about. There is no 
substantial reason to question that the French occu- 
pation of Northern Palestine will be as lengthened as 
their occupation of Rome has been ; and it will be 
recollected that this, at the time (1849), was averred 
to be but temporary. 

The population of Beyrout is calculated to amount 
to 50,000 ; and the town is certainly the only one in 
the East, where I observed marks of improvement in 
the shape of new buildings. In parts the streets are 
wide ; there is also a large square, and altogether 
there are undoubted signs of vitality and progress. 
There is a very good hotel in the town, called the 
" Hotel de Bellevue," situated close upon the sea, 
very convenient for access to all places of business ; 
nor must it be forgotten, that Beyrout is the principal 
place in this part of the world for the transaction of 
pecuniary matters, the negotiation of bills, and similar 
affairs. 

As we remained three days at Beyrout, I regretted 
very much that we had not gone as far as the cedars 
of Lebanon, which, from our protracted stay, we might 
have easily done. On the fourth day we resumed 
our voyage, and steamed towards Tripoli, where we 



119 



safely arrived and remained one day. We went 
ashore and walked to the town, which is certainly 
beautiful, as is the whole scenery around. The soil 
is rich and fertile, and the ground well watered, — a 
stream, in fact, flowing through the town. There are 
gardens on either side of a large, wide grass-road, 
and orchards full of orange, lemon, apricot and apple 
trees. We went into the gardens, and for a penny 
four of us had as many oranges as we chose to pluck. 
The houses are built of stone, and have a substantial 
appearance. The population is said to amount to 
13,000 inhabitants, of whom about one-fourth belong 
to the Greek Church, and the rest are Moslems. 

As we always steamed by night, every morning 
found us in some new place, or in view of some 
fresh and interesting scene. On the day after we 
left Tripoli, we were opposite to Latakia ; but, un- 
fortunately, it was blowing a gale, and we could not 
land. From the deck of the steamer, this place was 
seen to great advantage. It presents a very beautiful 
appearance in the midst of a now desolate coast, sur- 
rounded with groves of mulberry and orange trees, 
and having part of the Kamaranian chain of mountains 
in the back -ground. Although a very moderate 
smoker, I wished I could have disembarked, that I 
might have been able to tell my friends in Canada, 



120 



that I landed at the town which gives name to the 
tobacco so highly prized in the East, and had brought 
to them some genuine specimens, purchased on the 
spot. 

Having been unable to land and make personal 
observations, I will add a few particulars, gleaned 
from other sources, concerning this still lively and 
interesting town, though a mere shadow of what it 
was in former times. It is situated on a rocky pro- 
montory of considerable elevation, projecting about 
two miles into the sea ; and it presents a marked 
contrast to the desolation which reigns on other parts 
of the coast. Its harbour is a deep cove, encircled 
by high banks of rock, but the entrance is so narrow as 
to render it destructively dangerous in rough weather. 
The exports of the place consist chiefly of tobacco, 
silk, cotton, oil, with a few other articles,— all of 
which might be increased a hundred-fold, if the 
government could or would afford security for life 
and property. There is scarcely an acre of the plain 
between Tripoli and Latakia, that might not be 
made to produce abundant crops of cotton (a subject 
now engrossing so much attention in England) ; and 
the mountain sides adjoining are admirably adapted 
to the growth of the mulberry and vine. " Why 
(asks the traveller, with good reason,) do British 
merchants shut their eyes to the resources of Syria ?" 



121 



On the day after passing Latakia, we arrived at 
Alexandrette or Iskanderoon, which now gives name 
to the adjoining gulf, and is accounted the sea-port 
of Aleppo, though that city lies at a distance from it 
of at least seventy miles inland. The village is one 
of the most abject and wretched that I have ever 
seen ; and its site is low, marshy and unwholesome. 
The locality, however, is famous in history ; and it 
was by this way that Alexander the Great entered 
Syria, after he had defeated Darius at Issus. Hence 
the sea-port obtained from the Macedonian hero a 
name, which it has ever since retained with some 
slight variation. 

Antioch is about a day's journey inland ; but we 
were unable to visit the renowned capital of the 
Graeco-Syrian kings, where the disciples of Christ 
were first called Christians : the population does not 
now exceed six thousand ! It was a subject of still 
deeper regret, that we could not visit Tarsus, the 
birth-place of the great Apostle of the Gentiles ; but 
though there is a direct route from Iskanderoon to 
that city, the distance is much greater, and the time 
requisite for such a trip put any design of the kind, 
on this occasion, altogether out of the question. 

Leaving Iskanderoon and the Syrian seaboard, we 
proceeded along the coasts of Asia Minor, and enjoyed 



122 



greatly the magnificent and bold scenery here pre- 
sented to the voyager, with the great range of Taurus 
and the Cilician mountains in the distance. But we 
now hurried rapidly onwards ; and, passing close to 
Cyprus and Rhodes, and numerous places of ancient 
and modern note, we reached Smyrna on the twelfth 
day from leaving Jaffa, all detentions included. 

Our party on board the steamer, as I have already 
remarked, was small ; and, having been so many days 
together, we had become good and familiar friends. 
We were most comfortably lodged, each having a 
cabin to himself ; and a most excellent table was kept 
throughout the whole time. Indeed our own Canadian 
line, as well as that of Cunard's, would not do 
amiss to send a deputation of their stewards, and, 
perhaps, cooks also, to see how nicely things are 
managed during a trip along the shores of the 
Levant. I will not venture to give a complete carte 
a diner, but simply mention one incident, which 
occurred off Beyrout, and which may serve to shew 
the excellence of the cookery. Observing on that 
day, at dinner, a very savoury and delicate looking 
side-dish handed round, I partook of it, and found it 
so delicious, that I asked the Captain what it was, 
intending, like Oliver Twist, to ask for more. The 
answer, however, sufficed, and made my friend oppo- 
site drop his knife and fork : — " Des escargqts, 



Monsieur;" and marking the effect produced by 
his words,, our gallant Captain exclaimed, rather in- 
dignantly : — "Now, see the force of prejudice ! Da 
you not eat, with relish, oysters, periwinkles, and 
other shell-fish of the ocean ? — and why object to 
snails ! " 



CHAPTER XI. 



SMYRNA CONSTANTINOPLE. 



The Bay of Smyrna is one of the finest in the world ; 
this advantageous circumstance, together with the 
excellent situation of the place, must be regarded as 
the principal cause of its still continuing a flourishing 
commercial city, while ruin has overtaken so many 
renowned cities in Asia Minor. It is, indeed, ac- 
counted, both as to population and wealth, one of 
the very first marts in the Turkish empire, and one 
of the largest and richest cities in the Levant. The 
population has been reckoned as high as 150,000 ; 
and of these not more than a third are Moslem, so 
that it is still essentially a Greek city. There is said 
to be resident at this port a consul from every nation 
in Europe ; and it is certainly the rendezvous of 
merchants from most parts of the world and a great 
entrepot of merchandise. 



126 



The modern city does not occupy the same site as 
the ancient,— the latter having been seated on the 
hills to the south of the former ; — the earthquakes, 
which more than once almost totally destroyed the 
city, and the greater convenience to commerce caused 
its removal to the lower declivities of the mountain. 
From the bay and many points of view on land, the 
appearance of the place is very beautiful; the streets 
being built on a gradually rising slope. There are 
gardens and orchards in every section of the city, 
and this gives an air of life and beauty to the scene. 
On landing, however, and entering the place, we 
soon have the illusion dispelled ; and here, as in 
other parts of the East, the traveller finds himself 
threading his way through narrow, dirty lanes. Yet 
the houses are said to be better built, and the streets 
more open, than in other towns in this quarter of the 
world, once so famed for architectural excellence. 
" The prosperity of Smyrna" (writes a traveller of no 
mean authority) " is now rather on the increase than 
the decline ; and the houses of painted wood, which 
were most unworthy of its ancient fame and present 
importance, are rapidly giving way to palaces of 
stone ; and probably, ere many years have passed, 
the modern town may not unworthily represent the 
ancient city." I cannot say that we could heartily 
adopt these bright anticipations, nor realize the 



127 



views of the writer. We had, in fact, intended to 
remain a few days in Smyrna, to examine the city 
and vicinity in a more conciliatory mood ; but we 
found the hotel so very indifferent, that we endea- 
voured to make our rounds, and to see as much as we 
well could, in the course of the day. We did not 
fail to pay a visit to the Bridge of Caravans, near 
which, tradition says, the great poet Homer was born 
some thousands of years ago. We also made a point 
of visiting the principal Greek Church, from the top 
of which we had a very pleasing view of the city 
and vicinity. 

In the evening, according to our altered intentions, 
we embarked on board an Austrian steamer, which 
literally swarmed with passengers. We were soon 
sensible of the sad change which we had made from 
the quiet and comfort of the Mersey to the confusion 
and discomfort of an overcrowded Austrian steamer. 
The Austrian, Russian and Greek boats are very 
much inferior to the French. On board, however, 
we had the good fortune to form the acquaintance of 
Mr. Fry, an English barrister settled in Constan- 
tinople. The powers of this gentleman's memory are 
so great, that, among other astonishing feats, he can 
repeat the whole of Milton's Paradise Lost, and 
several plays ! — which wonderful faculty he exhibited 
for our amusement, and thus beguiled the time. 



128 

On leaving Smyrna, we steamed uninterruptedly 
through waters and along shores renowned in the 
classical literature of Greece, in the pages of her 
greatest poets and historians. We entered the Dar- 
danelles, and the steamer threaded her way through 
the celebrated Hellespont, which separates, by its 
comparatively narrow channel, the vast continent of 
Asia from Europe. At length the steamer reached 
Gallipoli, a sea-port of considerable importance in 
these parts, situated on the European side of the 
strait, to which it has imparted its name. The town 
is built on a peninsula, which forms two harbours, 
wherein the Turkish fleets are often to be seen ; and 
it stands at the broad entrance of the strait from the 
sea of Marmora, the Propontis of the ancients, over 
the waters of which the tourist obtains his first but 
distant glance of Constantinople. 

Having passed Gallipoli and continued our route 
through the strait into and across the sea of Marmora, 
we were, at an early hour next morning, rounding 
the Seraglio Point, and gliding into the Golden 
Horn, where the magnificent harbour of Constan- 
tinople lay revealed to the astonished gaze of the 
approaching strangers. It was thus that suddenly 
the glorious scene burst upon our view, and the Queen 
City of the East shone before us apparently in all her 
ancient splendour. Brilliant edifices, elegant minarets 



129 

and imposing cupolas, were in themselves a sight 
strikingly singular, and amply sufficient to excite 
admiration and to draw forth exclamations of surprise 
and delight. They presented, on this occasion, an 
unusually gay and animated picture, for it was the 
grand festival of Bairam ; and if we had arrived an 
hour sooner, we might have seen the Sultan going in 
state to the mosque of Saint Sophia. 

But before landing, as our highly excited expecta- 
tions may probably meet on shore with disappoint- 
ment, let us take a view of the scene around us, for 
(as it has been frequently acknowledged) it is one of 
the most extraordinary with which the tourist will 
meet in the eastern hemisphere. The bay of the 
Golden Horn is an amphitheatre encircled by hills, 
covered with palaces, minarets and splendid buildings, 
intermingled on the heights with cypress groves, and 
towards the shore with the masts and sails of innu- 
merable vessels of all descriptions. A clear blue 
sky, equally blue water, and a brilliant sun, produce 
on such combinations a magnificent effect. 

On landing, we proceeded to Misseri's Hotel, — an 
excellent house, which, indeed, I should have little 
hesitation in pronouncing the best of the kind to 
be found by travellers in the east. After a hearty 
breakfast, we walked to the Bridge of Boats ; de- 



130 



scending the dirty unpaved street, which leads down 
from Pera to Galata, we crossed, from the latter 
suburb — the water-side residence of merchants of all 
origins — over the Golden Horn, to Stamboul or Con- 
stantinople. The view from the Bridge of Boats is 
very grand, and the scene on the bridge itself is very 
striking. As Bradshaw remarks, the extraordinary 
oriental crowds, passing over and jumbled together, 
present a wondrous scene, as bewildering as it is 
novel and attractive. The vision of Mirza, so beau- 
tifully narrated in the Spectator, will occur to the 
mind of the traveller, as he gazes on the motley and 
sublime picture before his eyes. 

In the afternoon -we rode out on horseback to the 
"Sweet Waters" of Europe ; and, between luncheon 
and dinner, we got over from twenty-five to thirty 
miles, going round the walls of the city at a rate 
which our dragoman did not much admire. 

In our visit to the Seraglio, we were joined by a 
large number of persons, many of them from the 
States, in company with whom we went through the 
apartments, which are usually shewn to strangers. 
The Seraglio or Imperial Palace is enclosed within 
lofty walls, and the whole space is covered with gar- 
dens, groves, mosques, and suites of apartments. 
Here are now to be found the various departments 



131 



of the principal ministers of state, such as the Grand 
Vizier's Divan, the Mint, the Audience Chamber, in 
which foreign ambassadors are received by the Sultan, 
&c. The Seraglio is said to occupy the site of 
ancient Byzantium, and is about three miles in cir- 
cuit. The furniture of the place, as others have 
remarked, consists chiefly of sofas placed round the 
room, carpets and mirrors, — the hangings being of 
silk and cloth of gold with jewelled fringes, and the 
walls being variously veneered. 

We then proceeded to take a careful survey of the 
magnificent temple of St. Sophia, — originally a Chris- 
tian Church, but now, and for many long years, a 
Turkish Mosque. It is situated near the principal gate 
of the Seraglio, and is generally said to have been 
originally founded by Constantine himself, but was 
actually built in the sixth century. The marble 
pillars, used in its construction, were brought from 
various renowned edifices : some from the temples of 
the sun at Baalbec and Eome, six of jaspar, which 
once supported the roof of the renowned temple of 
Diana at Ephesus, and others of porphyry from 
Alexandria. The interior is certainly very imposing ; 
but, as I have elsewhere hinted, I think the Mosque 
of Omar, in Jerusalem, is, on the whole, superior. 
The description of the interior of this celebrated 

k2 



132 



edifice, as it now exists, is so graphically given in 
Bradshaw's Guide, that I feel tempted to copy it, not 
merely for the benefit of my readers who may not 
possess that work, but because it affords a most com- 
prehensive and appropriate glance at a most interest- 
ing oriental scene : — u The visitor should ascend the 
stairs and go up to the gallery, whence the view is 
exceedingly fine. The immense size of the building, 
the stupendous concave of the dome, the magnificence 
of the columns and varieties of marbles, the singular 
manner in which the building is illuminated with 
globes of crystal and lamps of coloured glass, and 
ornamented with ostrich eggs, &c, produce a most 
striking effect. On looking down and observing the 
number of believers at prayers, kneeling in rows 
across the body of the mosque, with their faces turned 
towards Mecca, — constantly bending up and down, 
touching the ground with their foreheads and spring- 
ing up again on their heels, the spectator must feel 
interested in the scene before him, though the impres- 
sion on his gravity may not be consistent with the 
sacredness of the place, however grave the effect 
produced on the Musselman." 

The Mosques are so numerous, that the tourist 
must rest satisfied with a visit to two or three of 
the principal ones, and some of these are edifices 
v pf striking grandeur. After viewing St. Sophia^ 



133 



we went to that of Achmet, which was built 
as a mosque originally, and not converted, as St, 
Sophia, from the cross to the crescent. No expense 
was spared in its construction ; and it is considered, 
by many persons, as the finest building ever erected 
by the Turks. I might be expected to allude to 
several more of these edifices ; but it should not be 
forgotten, that I am only writing a brief journal, 
founded almost entirely on personal observation. 

We rode through the old town of Stamboul, with 
its narrow and dirty streets, towards the Castle of the 
Seven Towers, as well as to the u Castles of Ancient 
Days." It has been most justly remarked, that the 
interior of the city is greatly at variance with the 
noble appearance which it externally presents, even 
at a short distance. It consists of a certain number 
of dark and filthy streets, closely crowded together, 
and choked up with dust and mud. The Castle of 
the Seven Towers is a state prison, standing near the 
Sea of Marmora, at the west point of the city from 
the Seraglio. We ascended to the top of the build- 
ing and enjoyed the prospect. 

The Bazaars of Constantinople, where all the busi- 
ness of the city is transacted, have long been famous 
for the great variety and beauty of the wares pre- 
sented for sale, the silks being especially notable. 



134 



The Bazaars themselves resemble a row of booths in 
a fair, or have the appearance of a street of shops, 
allotted out to particular trades, merchandize, and 
dealers of different nations. They have been de- 
scribed as lofty cloisters or corridors, built of stone, 
and lighted by domes ; they are thus admirably 
adapted for the climate, and afford a not unpleasant 
retreat in summer. The crowd is of a very motley 
description, but peculiarly oriental in character ; the 
variety of dress and of the different modes of covering 
the head produces a most striking and picturesque 
effect. We purchased a few pairs of slippers, fans, 
&c, &c, and some veritable otto of roses ; but we 
had arranged our plans for an excursion through 
the Bosphorus, and, in consequence, were unable to 
remain as long at the Bazaars as some of our party 
wished. 

Though it rained in torrents, we embarked on 
board a steamer from the Bridge of Boats, bound for 
Buyukdere, situated on the European side near the 
entrance of the Bosphorus from the Black Sea. The 
steamer was densely crowded with passengers. I 
have seen the penny-boats, which ply between Hun- 
gerford Market and London Bridge, tolerably well 
filled ; but never have I seen them so crowded as 
those on the Bosphorus. Neither Mr. Hill nor myself 
could succeed in getting a seat, — indeed, we could 



135 



scarcely find standing room. Though the rain con- 
tinued to pour down, and prevented our being on 
deck, yet we did not fail to be much impressed, from 
a peep now and then from the cabin windows, with 
the extreme beauty of the scenery on both sides of 
the Bosphorus. 

We reached Buyukdere about 8 o'clock, and took 
up our quarters at a capital hotel, kept by an Italian. 
A son of the Greek admiral, who distinguished him- 
self in the war of independence, introduced himself, 
and having been in the British navy, he behaved 
to us with great politeness and attention, and acted 
in a most civil and serviceable manner. Next morn- 
ing the sun shone brightly, and we obtained our 
" glimpse of the Black Sea," under favorable circum- 
stances ; and from the summit of a hill, behind this 
village, a more extensive view was obtained of the 
celebrated Euxine. 

In returning to Constantinople, we had a better 
opportunity of admiring the beauty of the scenery, 
which adorns both sides of the straits. From the 
Black Sea to the City there extends one continued 
panorama of the most beautiful views that can well 
be imagined. Shrubs and trees, flowering and fruit- 
bearing, terraces and gay gardens rising one above 
another with outlines of the hills for a background, 



136 



present a constant variety of beauty and grandeur. 
Yillas, palaces, kiosks, and other mansions, rise on 
both sides, imparting animation to the scene ; indeed 
these edifices so closely succeed one another, that 
they present an appearance, along the shores, of one 
large continued street some fifteen miles in length, of 
which the stream is the central roadway. Here and 
there the houses become sufficiently numerous to 
form, as at Buyukdere, large villages, containing 
shops, cafes and hotels. 

The caiques at Constantinople serve the purpose 
of cabs or hackney-coaches elsewhere ; they are rowed 
by a couple of stout Turks, who do their work well. 
This mode of making a trip being not only pleasant, 
but one of the peculiarities of the place, we engaged 
a caique to take us across to Scutari, a distance of a 
mile and a half. Our principal object, in visiting 
this oriental suburb of the Queen of the East, was to 
view the burial-ground, where rest the bodies of so 
many of our gallant countrymen, who fell in the 
Crimean war, or perished victims to the climate. I 
must acknowledge, that the monument here erected^ 
by the nation, to the memory of the brave men whose 
lives were sacrificed in defence of their country's 
honour, during the late contest with Russia, did not 
appear to me altogether worthy of the cause, — in point 



137 



of taste being rather clumsy and inelegant. At all 
events a feeling of sorrow pervaded my mind, as I 
gazed upon these records of departed valour. 

The Bosphorus varies in width from one to 
three miles. As the weather was fine, the trip on 
the water was very pleasant, and nothing could ex- 
ceed the gorgeous splendour, with which the Golden 
Horn appeared to gleam, as we approached the city, 
on our return from the Asiatic shore. Scutari, seen 
from the water, presents itself like an amphitheatre, 
being situated on sloping ground ; and it affords a 
very picturesque view, from the admixture of trees, 
mosques, minarets and houses. It is an emporium of 
note, and the rendezvous of the Asiatic caravans. It 
has been long noted for its extensive burying-grounds, 
wooded with cypresses overshadowing innumerable 
tombs. The Turks of Constantinople prefer being 
interred on the Asiatic side ; for they regard Asia as 
a land belonging to the true believers, — while they 
look upon the European side of the Strait as the 
country of the infidel, and destined again to fall into 
their hands ; indeed, this impression grows stronger 
every year. 

The extent of the cemeteries round about Con- 
stantinople, as in the neighbourhood of Eastern cities 
generally, is very considerable ; they spread over 



138 



miles in some places, and, not being inclosed with 
walls, are usually kept in wretched order. The 
tombstones are all flat, and are mostly in a broken 
condition : — 

" Side by side, 
The poor man, and the son of pride 
Lie calm and still." — Longfellow, 

Our visit to Constantinople occurred, as I have 
before remarked, during the festival of the Bairam ; 
on which anniversary the whole population are much 
enlivened, and fully intent on enjoying themselves 
by land and water. The costumes of the people are 
striking from their variety : some are exceedingly 
rich ; and some are so meagre, as scarcely to deserve 
the name of habiliments. The bullock-carriages are 
quite stylish in their way — the cattle being small, 
well groomed, and of handsome colour. Jugglers 
and " merry-go-rounds" are to be seen in every direc- 
tion ; so also musicians and dancing dervishes. Stalls, 
likewise, are abundant for the supply of fruit, sherbert, 
&c. Horsemen ride furiously about on their chargers ; 
and every here and there women mounted on horse- 
back, riding a-straddle as they generally do in the East, 
with a muslin veil, so thin, as to be a mere mockery ; 
if their faces were more generally pretty, few might be 
disposed to find serious fault with a change so reason- 
able. The city altogether assumes a more gay ap- 



139 



pearance than usual ; on the Rights of illumination, 
festoons of lamps are suspended from minaret to 
minaret, and produce a very beautiful effect. But 
my sojourn in the Imperial city draws to a close ; 
and it were needless to dwell on particulars, which 
may be found duly detailed in publications composed 
on purpose. 

It is, however, hardly possible to bid adieu, without 
expressing surprise (as hundreds have done before 
me) at the immense number of dogs, which infest 
the streets, and are to be met with everywhere. They 
are regarded with some extraordinary religious feel- 
ing; and they are so considerately treated, that they 
become excessively lazy, and will not get out of the 
way of persons passing along ; even the horses are 
taught to step over them, and this the brutes know 
well, and will not get out of the way. 



CHAPTER XIL 



DEPARTURE FROM CONSTANTINOPLE, AND RETURN TO 

ENGLAND. 



We left Constantinople, on the 26th April, in the 
French mail-steamer "Neva," bound for Marseilles 
by way of the Piraeus and Sicily ; and we thus once 
more crossed the Propontis and sailed through the 
Hellespont, Having passed between Sestos and 
Abydos in the narrowest part of this renowned strait, 
where Xerxes built his bridge of boats, and where 
Leander was wont to swim across to his beloved 
Hero, we again entered the waters of the iEgina. 
Long years of busy and constant occupation in mer- 
cantile affairs have, indeed, rendered my classical 
associations very indistinct, and greatly obscured my 
reminiscences of Grecian histories ; but strange feel- 
ings arose in my mind, as we passed by the island of 
Tenedos, and viewed, in the distance, the site of 
ancient Troy and the mountain-range of Ida. 



142 



We sailed on the surface of that sea over which the 
Grecian chiefs, after the conclusion of the ten years' 
siege, were doomed to wander ; and where the supre- 
macy of Europe over the wealthier and more populous 
Asia was more than once decided in hard-fought 
contests. We wended our way among islands, noted 
in the pages of antiquity, celebrated for their legends 
and traditions, as well as for their natural advantages ; 
and the words of the well-known bard were forcibly 
recalled to mind: — 

" The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece ! 
Where burning Sappho lived and sung ; 
Where grew the arts of war and peace, 
Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung. " 

&c, &c, 

After about thirty hours' sailing, we arrived, on 
the 27th of April, at the Piraeus, still tbe seaport of 
Athens, and a very pretty-looking town. English 
sign-boards met the eye, announcing that Bass' and 
Allsopp's ales were to be had in this classical locality. 
Many things had a comfortable appearance, and 
reminded us of home ; although there was still enough 
to be seen to convince us that we were not yet in 
England. 

An excellent road connects the port with Athens, 
over a distance of about four or five miles ; and at 
break of day we were en route for this celebrated 



143 



city. The morning was very fine, and there was a 
most beautiful sky, — which was so far fortunate, for 
our stay was not destined to be a long one. The 
Acropolis was soon in view — indeed, it was first seen 
from the sea ; and on drawing near, the beautiful 
temple of Theseus and the Parthenon are clearly dis- 
tinguished. As the visitor ascends the mount, on 
which the Acropolis is built, he has before his eyes 
the celebrated temple of Victory to excite his admi- 
ration, and, at his feet, that of Jupiter Olympicus. 
Adrian's gate is here seen to advantage ; and, in 
fact, Athens, both the old and the new, are so 
grouped together, and lie within so small a space, 
that all notable objects are embraced at once 
by the eye of the spectator. With the mounts of 
Hymettus and Pentillicus as a background, there is a 
view of surpassing beauty, the effect of which is 
heightened by associations of historic celebrity. 

The Morea lay at no great distance ; the Plains of 
Marathon, and the Gulf and Island of Salamis were 
close at hand : all was classic scenery and all was 
classic ground. Two other stanzas from the ode just 
quoted, although they may be deemed by some rather 
common-place, can hardly be inappropriate, when it 
is remembered that the mighty preparations of the 
Persian monarch to subdue Greece were made within 



144 



a few miles 5 distance from the spot where I was then 
standing : — 

" The mountains look on Marathon, 

And Marathon looks on the sea, 
And musing there an hour alone, 

I dream' d that Greece might still be free ; 
For standing on the Persians' grave, 
I could not deem myself a slave, 

A king sat on the rocky brow, 

Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis ; 

And ships by thousands lay below, 
And men in nations,- — all were his ! 

He counted them at break of day, 

And when the sun set, where were they?" 

But famous as Athens is in classic story, and 
powerful as are the associations connected with this 
city as the nurse of freedom, learning and the fine 
arts, it was with feelings of profound intensity that I 
viewed the spot where the fearless and undaunted 
Apostle of the Gentiles declared to the "men of 
Athens" The Unknown God. For the delivery of 
his address a better site than Mars' Hill could 
scarcely be conceived. The remains of the Theatre 
are not far off ; and it is not difficult to conceive how 
thirty thousand spectators could have been there 
accommodated within the limited space, and without 
a roof. 

We visited the new town ; and, certainly, could 
not favorably compare the modern regal residence of 



145 



King Otho with the celebrated models, the remains 
of which we had just seen. The palace has, in fact, 
a greater resemblance to a modern manufactory than 
to a Royal residence. The streets are wide, and 
kept in good order. The Greek church was the 
most handsome structure of the kind I had seen, 
although not quite so large as that at Smyrna. 

We saw some soldiers at drill ; they appeared to 
go through their exercise in a very creditable style, 
were well dressed, and had all the appearance of 
being a fine body of men. King Otho is, appa- 
rently, not very popular ; yet he is entitled to the 
thanks of the traveller as well as the antiquary, for 
having done so much in excavating hallowed ruins, 
and in removing the rubbish which had, for so many 
years, covered a great portion of these interesting 
spots. Many persons have exclaimed against, and 
many still continue to censure, the removal of the 
Athenian marbles by the late Lord Elgin ; but I 
cannot forbear from expressing my humble opinion, 
that they have been much safer and much more 
carefully looked after in the British Museum, than 
they would have been in their original position. 
During the war of independence, the Turks, who be- 
haved as Turks have generally done, sadly disfigured 
by shot and shell the pillars of the temple of Theseus 
and the Parthenon. 



146 



We re-embarked and left the Piraeus in the course 
of the afternoon. Our party was considerably in- 
creased, and among others by the addition of Mr. 
Lawrence of New York, attached to the United 
States' Embassy at Vienna. This gentleman had 
been resident in Athens for several months, and he 
gave us many interesting particulars and anecdotes 
in reference to the modern Greeks. Nor could we 
help thinking that if, in these go-a-head days, the 
heroes and sages of ancient Greece could arise from 
the mansions of the dead, and behold us moving 
round the once formidable promontories of the Pelo- 
ponesus, impelled by a power that seemed to disregard 
both winds and currents, they would certainly have 
had many of their superstitious notions revived, and 
would have felt convinced that we were rounding 
these capes and headlands, noted for their dangers 
and their legends of peril, under the immediate in- 
fluence of some unseen divinity. 

Pursuing our course round the south of Italy, we 
came in sight of Mount Etna early on Sunday morn- 
ing, the 29th of April, and were soon at anchor in 
the safe and commodious harbour of Messina. The 
captain of the "Neva" assured me that there was no 
use in going ashore, as my passport had not been 
vized at Constantinople, though it was countersigned 
by the Neapolitan Ambassador in London. I thought 



147 



it, however, worth while to make the attempt, as I 
could at most only be sent back ; and on my landing 
on the beautiful quay, which extends along the whole 
town, I was allowed, after a short delay, to enter the 
city. 

I felt much satisfaction in having persevered in 
my resolution ; for, after our wanderings in the East, 
everything in the Sicilian seaport had a neat and 
clean appearance. The streets are wide, and the rows 
of houses seemed to us solid and beautiful, and by 
no means deficient in architectural taste. Although 
it was Sunday, the streets were thronged, chiefly with 
military, and troops were marching and counter-march- 
ing in every direction. An uneasy feeling evidently 
prevailed ; but as yet there was no appearance of any 
violent or sudden outbreak. It is now, however, a 
matter of history, that, shortly after our brief visit, 
Garibaldi landed in Sicily, and was not long in fight- 
ing his way to Messina. His career resembled 
romance more than reality, and is replete with interest 
to the patriot and the philanthropist. May he con- 
tinue to exhibit the same true-hearted singleness of 
purpose, till the whole of Italy is restored to the 
unity of a great Kingdom I 

The harbour of Messina is, as I have previously 
remarked, very commodious, and one of the safest 

id 2 



148 



that I have ever seen ; it is also most conveniently 
situated in respect to the commerce of the Mediter- 
ranean, and it was regarded by the ancient Greeks as 
the key of Sicily. The appearance of the city, on the 
first approach from the water, is most striking and 
beautiful. There is a bold background, which adds 
greatly to the picture ; and, as the place is strongly 
fortified, the stranger is struck at once with its im- 
portance and value, the surrounding country being 
very fruitful. The Churches and Convents are nu- 
merous, and there is a handsome " Maison de Ville." 
The trade in wine, fruit, silk, corn and oil, has always 
been accounted respectable ; yet the city has ever 
been unfortunate in modern as well as in ancient 
days. In the wars of the Carthaginians, Greeks and 
Romans, it frequently changed hands, and was more 
than once captured and depopulated. In 1780, it 
suffered severely from an earthquake ; and, a few 
years afterwards, was more severely damaged by 
another. 

A very brief digression may, at this moment, be 
permitted on the subject of earthquakes. These 
terrific phenomena have, from time immemorial, been 
productive of great loss and misery in different parts 
of countries bordering on the Mediterranean, — such 
as in Sicily, in the vicinity of Naples, Smyrna, 
Aritioch, and other cities near the sea coast. As 



149 



they have occurred near the same places, at greater 
or less intervals of time, one would scarcely have 
imagined that towns would be speedily raised anew 
in the same spot, and soon as populously inhabited 
as ever j yet such has constantly been the case. 

On this part of the American continent we are not 
so subject to the awful consequences of these visita- 
tions as people are in the Levant ; but there would 
seem to exist, even in Canada, about a hundred miles 
below Quebec, similar subterranean causes of violent 
commotion below the earth's surface, though fortu- 
nately to all appearance on a more moderate scale. 
Earthquakes at Murray Bay are of not uncommon 
occurrence ; and it is on record, that soon after the 
discovery of the country by the French, an earthquake 
of great intensity was felt, causing so much disturb- 
ance and displacement in a neighboring locality, that 
the place has ever since retained the name of " Les 
Eboulemens? Last October a very sharp shock, or 
series of shocks, was sensibly felt throughout the 
whole of Canada and many parts of the United States ; 
but not with the same powerful effect, as in the 
vicinity alluded to, where the stone walls, the plaster 
and ceilings were cracked and shaken loose. 

We left Messina on Sunday afternoon, having 
remained there from break of day ; and steaming 



150 

through the straits, which bear the same name, we 
passed between the renowned Scylla and Charybdis 
of the ancients. These are, by no means, such objects 
of terror to modern navigators as they appear to have 
been to those of old. Scylla is a rock forming a 
promontory on the coast of Calabria, where it projects 
at the narrowest part of the faro. At the bottom of 
of the rock there are said to be caverns, through 
which the winds are heard rustling and the waves 
dashing ; — sounds which the superstition of antiquity 
imagined to be the howling and barking of dogs. The 
only danger to sailing vessels arises when the wind 
blows strongly against the current ; for then they 
might be driven against the rock. Charybdis, on the 
Sicilian coast, is no longer the whirlpool or vortex 
that it was in olden times ; the earthquake of 1783 
appears to have completely changed its character 
as well as its danger, although the waters are still 
greatly agitated from rugged and pointed rocks. 
However, in such a steamer as the "Neva" no one 
entertains, for a moment, any feeling of apprehension 
from either Scylla or Charybdis, — the sole interest, 
which these poetic celebrities possess, being associated 
with the memorials of ancient days. 

Passing through the straits of Messina, we held on 
our course between the shores of Calabria and the 
Lipari or iEolian islands, all of volcanic formation. 



151 



The last or most northerly of these is Stromboli, 
which, I am sorry to say, we passed during broad 
day ; so I was disappointed in my desire to see, in full 
glare, the only lighthouse in the world which is not 
supported by a tax on shipping ! Of all the volcanoes 
recorded in history, Stromboli seems to be the only 
one that emits flames without intermission ; and, for 
ages past, it has been regarded as the great Lighthouse 
of this part of the Mediterranean. 

Between Messina and Marseilles there are several 
lighthouses, to which great attention is paid by the 
French authorities. One is now being erected near 
Corsica, on a spot where, during the Crimean war, a 
large man-of-war struck, full of troops, and almost all 
on board perished. We reached Marseilles in five 
days from Constantinople ; and on our approach to 
this ancient city, we could not forbear from expressing 
great admiration of the appearance of the defences 
from the sea. All the islands at the entrance are 
strongly fortified, and the town itself is powerfully 
defended by a large fort and citadel. 

The docks of Marseilles are very commodious ; and, 
altogether, the city has a busy and active appearance. 
The streets of the modern parts are spacious and 
wide ; and the Exchange, which has lately been 
finished, is a handsome and prominent edifice. I had 



152 



always heard that the Customs' House authorities 
were very stringent in their examination of passengers 9 
baggage ; but, though every thing was conducted with 
great method, and every person was obliged to point 
out his own trunks and packages with accuracy, yet, 
if there was no tobacco, no rigid examination took 
place ; if there was, duty was exacted, a liberal 
allowance being made for private use. In England, 
also, as we found, a great change has come over the 
authorities in this respect ; and the annoying search 
has been abandoned, except when there is reason to 
believe that there is a premeditated design to defraud 
the revenue in an unhandsome and encroaching 
manner. 

The country from Marseilles to Paris, as seen from 
the windows of the railway carriage, appears to be 
very beautiful, especially the first part from Marseilles 
to Lyons. In France the management of the rail- 
road, with every thing relating to the comfort of the 
passengers, is much more carefully attended to than 
elsewhere on the -Continent or in England. 

My stay in Paris was, on this occasion, very limited ; 
but I saw the young Imperial Prince taking an airing 
in a carriage and four, surrounded with numerous 
outriders and great military pomp. Shortly after- 
wards, I met the Emperor and Empress in a small 



153 



quiet carriage, with a groom behind them. Musing 
on the changes which have taken place in France 
during the present century, I could not help thinking 
that it would be marvellous, if another turn of the 
kaleidoscope should not produce an altered phasis of 
affairs and a new regime in France, before this scion 
of the Bonapartist dynasty attained his majority. 

On reaching Calais, we unfortunately experienced 
that the passport system was still one of the greatest 
nuisances to travellers. We had to wait to get ours 
inspected, and to obtain permission to leave ; and 
thus, the tide being on the turn, we had the pleasure 
of learning that the mails, baggage, and two or three 
passengers, who were first at the office, had sailed ; 
while we were left to pass the night, and most of the 
next day, in this old town, so famed in the wars be- 
tween England and France " long time ago." Many 
of the passengers were furious, and expressed their 
determination to write to the " Times, 9 ' but though I 
lost my passage, I could not think that losing my 
temper would be of any utility ; and I was soon 
asleep in a very comfortable hotel. 

Next morning I was not up with the lark, — in 
fact I was very late ; and, on entering the break- 
fast-room, I found many who were lamenting their 
detention. Among them was a most gentlemanly 



154 



man, whom I casually greeted ; the moment I did 
so, I observed his eyes to glisten in a marked manner, 
so much so that I felt at a loss to account for a mere 
u bon jour, monsieur" having so electric an effect. 
After breakfast, however, I discovered that the cause 
was not solely to be attributed to any peculiar sym- 
pathy which, according to the advocates of mesmerism, 
may exist between kindred spirits. The gentleman, 
in fact, happened to be in what our American neigh- 
bours term a " peculiarly awkward fix." My having 
accosted him in a cordial way, seemed to offer him a 
good opportunity of unburdening himself, which, in 
small as well as in weighty matters, frequently affords 
great relief. From the state of perturbation he was 
in, I imagined that he had to disclose some great 
matter ; and although to a perfect stranger, he felt as 
Marmion did in unburdening his mind to Lord 
Lindsay — 

" But by that strong emotion pressed, 
Which prompts us to unload our breast, 
Even when discovery 's pain 

yet it became amusing when I learnt the cause of his 
depression : — He had, as he said, received, on the day 
previous, a telegraph, informing him that a particular 
friend of his, in Hamburg, was dangerously ill ; and 
as he lived a few miles out of Paris, he had not time 
to go home, but drove straight to the station. He 



155 



could have no money, he added, till he got to London, 
nor did he want any till then ; but the steamer would 
sail early, on the morning after his arrival, for Ham- 
burg, and his order on a London merchant might be 
of no use, as, in all probability, the office would be 
shut ere we could reach the great metropolis. All 
this contre-temps had arisen from the tide having been 
so unreasonable as to turn before he could get on 
board the previous evening. 

He was most gentlemanly in his manner and 
address, and apologised for troubling me, a complete 
stranger, with his grievances ; but he felt greatly 
annoyed and was in much distress. I told him that, 
unfortunately, I had only one Napoleon in my purse ; 
but that if, on reaching London, the office (on which 
he had the order) was closed, I would manage that 
he should not lose his passage. Frequently, during 
the day, he would come and shake hands without 
saying a word ; in fact, we soon became great friends, 
which was so far very pleasant to me, as I had bid 
good bye to Mr. Hill at Messina, and to Mr. Lawrence 
at Paris. I therefore regarded the occurrence as a 
pleasing incident, and considered it fortunate to end 
my travels with so sociable a companion. He was, 
among other accomplishments, a great linguist, and 
spoke Italian, Spanish, French, English, and Arabia, 
for he had been sometime in Morocco. 



156 



On our arriving in London, as he was not encum- 
bered with baggage, he assisted me with mine while 
it underwent inspection at the Customs' House ; and 
on proceeding to the city, the merchants' office, as 
he had anticipated, was closed ; so I drove him to the 
Conservative, and sent him away rejoicing with what 
he wanted. Would the reader ask me whether I was 
ever repaid ? — Next morning the amount was placed 
at my Bankers', accompanied by a letter, expressed 

in most handsome terms, from Baron de , a 

Prussian nobleman. My recently-acquired friend was 
a person of large property and influence, but too 
deeply imbued with liberal principles for the sphere 
in which he moved. Perhaps in the changes which 
are now occurring in Germany in the cause of consti- 
tutional liberty, he may find an opportunity of exer- 
cising his talents ; and, indeed, I am greatly mistaken 
if my travelling companion is not destined to play a 
conspicuous part in these events. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

REVIEW IN EDINBURGH LAKES OF CUMBERLAND— 

RETURN TO CANADA, 

Rain, rain, rain, — what a contrast between the weather 
we now experienced and that which we had enjoyed 
in the East ; from May to August we had scarcely 
two consecutive days of fine weather in England and 
Scotland ; whereas, during my sojourn in the East, it 
only rained once at Gibraltar and once at Alexandria. 
Certainly so cold and cheerless a summer, as that of 
1860, is of rare occurrence in Europe ; and I was 
sadly disappointed of much of the pleasure which I 
had anticipated from seeing England in its spring 
beauty. A few notes, however, of my movements 
before I returned to Canada, will be briefly alluded 
to in this my concluding chapter, 

I cannot, in the first place, omit mentioning a 
most agreeable visit, during a couple of weeks, at 



158 



Mrs. Ellison's, Sudbrooke Holme, in Lincolnshire J 
where, indeed, I have always met with a most warm 
and cordial reception. Some six months previously, 
Mr. Ellison, the generous and open-hearted friend, 
had passed away, widely regretted. He was one of 
the excellent of the earth, and his charities were 
unbounded, and in many instances were extended to 
this Province ; and his honored name will be found 
in the list of contributors to a recently-established 
endowment fund, for the future maintenance of 
Clergy attached to the Chapels in the City of 
Quebec. 

After leaving Sudbrooke, We proceeded north* 
wards, and remained some six weeks with my sister 
at Ecclesgreig. After this (not to dwell on topics 
and movements too individually personal for publica* 
tion) we turned our faces homewards ; and, by good 
luck, arrived at Edinburgh on the day preceding that 
appointed for the Grand Review of the Scottish 
Volunteers by Her Majesty the Queen. 

On our arrival, Dun-Eden was all alive ; the streets 
were crowded, and every one we met brimful of im- 
portance. Early next morning we were, with thou* 
sands of others, on the move ; and, with such an 
animated scene before us, we could not help thinking 
that, had Sir Walter Scott witnessed the brilliant 



159 



display and undertaken a description of it, he could 
hardly have written more appropriately — the last line 
especially — than when he recounts the gathering of 
the Scottish forces previously to the unfortunate battle 
of Flodden:— 

" Still, as of yore, Queen of the North f 
Still canst thou send thy children forth* 
Ne'er readier at alarm-hell's call 
Thy hurghers rose to man thy wall, 
Than now, in danger, shall be thine, 
Thy dauntless voluntary line," 

Mabmion, — Introduction to Canto % 

But how different were the riflemen of to-day from 
soldiers in the time of Marmion, in point of dress and 
discipline ! Mountaineers and Borderers were now 
present at the Royal Review, equipped as gaily and 
as expert in practice as any of the fine bodies of 
brave men who, on this occasion, gathered round their 
beloved sovereign ; whereas, in former days, accord- 
ing to the stanzas immediately following those just 
quoted : — 

" On foot the yeoman too, but dressed 
In his steel jack, a swarthy vest, 

With iron quilted well ; 
Each at his back (a slender store), 
His forty-days' provision bore, 

As feudal statutes tell. 
His arms were halbard, axe, or spear ? 
A cross-bow there, a hagbut here, 

A dagger-knife, and brand." 



160 



At the review I could not help admiring the excel- 
lent training of the men, and how well under command 
they were. Although there was some little difference 
in the uniform of the various regiments, they were all 
armed with the same deadly weapon. I will never 
forget the excitement of the moment, when upwards 
of twenty thousand Yolunteers welcomed their Queen 
as she came on the ground, " in all the pride and 
pomp and circumstance of war," accompanied by the 
Prince Consort and surrounded by a brilliant staff. 
Her Majesty was most enthusiastically greeted, at the . 
same moment, by the countless multitudes that lined 
the sides of the hills and the rising grounds in the 
neighborhood of Holyrood Palace. A few passing 
showers created fears that the weather might mar 
the pageant ; but, fortunately, these apprehensions 
were not realized, the day proved fine, and all passed 
off exceedingly well. The arrangements altogether 
were admirable, — and my old friend, Sir George 
Wetherall, who had been so long in Canada, was in 
command, and next day told me he was most forcibly 
struck with the discipline of such large masses, the 
more especially as most of them had only that morn- 
ing arrived, and had no opportunity of going, as it 
were, through a preliminary parade. 

Next day, we proceeded to the Lakes of West- 
moreland and Cumberland ; and if I pause a moment 



161 



to say a word about them, it is for the sole purpose 
of inducing my friends in Canada to visit those 
delightful scenes, and pass a few days in this most 
interesting vicinity. Tourists from these Provinces 
may not all find time to proceed as far as Palestine ; 
but surely mostly every one would be able to spend 
a short time at Windermere, which is not many 
hours' distant by rail from Liverpool. During our 
brief sojourn in the vicinity of the Lakes we made 
Bowness our head-quarters ; and the day after we 
arrived, we had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Rose 
and part of her family. She had just arrived from 
Quebec, and had much to tell us of the great pre- 
parations making to welcome the Prince of Wales. 

We saw every part of Windermere from the deck 
of a small steamer, which sails up and down the lake 
three or four times a-day. On the morning following 
our excursion on this beautiful sheet of water, we 
started in a carriage, which we left at a small inn, 
and proceeded on foot to a very pretty waterfall, 
deservedly much admired, although it appeared rather 
tiny in our eyes, which had been accustomed to gaze 
on the magnificent Falls of Montmorency and the 
Chaudiere, in the immediate vicinity of Quebec. 

We afterwards went to Grassmere and Eydal- 
water : the latter is about a mile long, has two little 

M 



162 



islands in it, and communicates with Grassmere by a 
narrow channel and with Windermere by the river 
Kothay. It is an enchanting spectacle, to look down 
from the summit of an adjacent mountain on these 
small lakes, with villas and villages scattered every- 
where around. The surrounding country appears so 
richly cultivated, and the background of the moun- 
tains so near, that the whole picture is embraced at 
once in all its splendor and loveliness. As we con- 
template the glorious prospect, we can no longer feel 
surprise that Wordsworth admired these scenes so 
highly, and wrote so much about them. As in duty 
bound, we visited the churchyard at the head of 
Grassmere lake, and inspected the modest tomb of 
the Poet, whose name and memory will ever be 
associated with this beautiful region. 

On the 16th day of August we embarked at 
Liverpool on board of the " Nova-Scotian," captain 
McMaster, with upwards of a hundred passengers. 
The steamer remained a day at Moville, and we 
were thereby enabled to pay a visit to Londonderry. 
Though the rain poured down in torrents, we managed 
to visit the Cathedral, the monument to Walker, and 
to walk round part of the walls ; — and we were thus 
enabled to say we had been in Ireland. 



163 



Our voyage across the Atlantic was pleasant 
enough, and we landed in Quebec on the 26th of 
August. We were all anxiety to learn how the Pro- 
vince had received the Prince of Wales, and we were 
highly delighted to hear, that all had been excellently 
arranged, and so far well-inanaged. It is not my 
intention to follow His Royal Highness in his course 
to the Upper Province ; but, being anxious to see 
him on Canadian ground, we pushed on to Montreal. 
We there had the pleasure of witnessing the Volunteer 
Forces in that city reviewed by the Heir Apparent, 
towards the latter part of the same month in which 
we had seen Her Majesty inspect those of Scotland 
in the Northern Metropolis ; and the same loyalty 
and enthusiasm were exhibited on both occasions. 

Before the end of the year, I had occasion again 
to visit England ; and, arriving there in December, 
I found a Canadian winter prevailing. I have thus, 
within twelve months, by steamboat and railway, 
travelled over about four-and- twenty thousand miles — 
a distance nearly equal to the circumference of our 
globe. Indeed, the facilities of travelling now-a-days, 
enable one to accomplish in a year what was once 
considered the occupation of a life-time. 

During this latter visit, I had the gratification of 
hearing the improved and flattering tone in which 

m 2 



164 



men, high in power, now speak of Canada. I enjoyed 
the good fortune of being present, on two occasions, 
at dinners given in London to the Governor General, 
Sir Edmund Head — one by the Canada Club, 
and one by the Lord Mayor of London. It must 
have been particularly gratifying to His Excellency 
to listen to the expressions uttered on the one occa- 
sion, by gentlemen so intimately connected with the 
interests of the Province, — and, on the other, at the 
Mansion House, by the Lord Mayor and several of 
his numerous guests, among whom were some sixty 
members of Parliament. I may not be strictly correct 
in the observation, but I am pretty certain, that His 
Excellency is the first Governor General of Canada 
thus publicly entertained at the Mansion House, 
during his tenure of office. Dinners, we well know, 
are usually given, by the Lord Mayor, to Governors 
General of India proceeding to the scene of their 
labours ; hence, from the occurrence which I have 
just recorded, we may be allowed to draw an inference 
with regard to the increasing importance of these 
colonies in the eyes of public men in England. 

My task is now accomplished ; and, in drawing 
my remarks to a close, I would strongly recommend 
those who may be induced to visit Palestine to take 
the same route I have done. More especially do I 



165 



recommend the voyage from England by the Bay of 
Biscay ; the opportunity of visiting Gibraltar, thereby 
afforded, will be fully appreciated ; and a week, spent 
in this fortress, will pass quickly and pleasantly away, 
serving as an excellent introduction to future scenes^ 
through which the traveller must pass. Again, when 
Jerusalem has been attained, I would advise the 
tourist, instead of returning to Jaffa as I did, to 
proceed by land to Damascus ; and, if time should 
permit, to visit the remarkable remains of Baalbec, 
and even Palmyra, subsequently proceeding to Bey- 
rout by the Lebanon. 

It is scarcely possible to conclude without some 
allusion to the present unsettled state of public affairs 
all over the world, not merely in Europe and Asia, 
but even in America. All seems perplexity and 
doubt ; and what the next great change may be, or 
where it is likely to happen, it would be impossible 
to tell with any degree of certainty. Such a position 
of affairs may appear likely to interfere with the 
movements of tourists ; though the zealous traveller 
is not easily daunted, and would undoubtedly meet 
with due consideration and protection, except in very 
wild districts or disorganized communities. To the 
East, Christians, Jews and Mohammedans now look 
with increasing anxiety, and many eminent men pre- 



166 



diet that great trouble and tribulation are at hand. 
It is well, however, to remember that, with regard 
to nations as well as individuals, all things are under 
the control of a superintending Providence, without 
whose permission not a sparrow falleth to the ground ; 
and that, in the words of our great dramatist, which 
can never be too often repeated : — 

" Heaven hath a hand in these events, 
To whose high will we bound our calm contents" 



APPENDIX 



PACIFIC RAILROAD. 



At a public dinner given at Russell's Hotel, on the 
28th of December, 1858, to Yiscount Bury, His 
Worship H. Langevin, Mayor of Quebec, in the 
chair, His Lordship's health was proposed and most 
enthusiastically received, when Mr. Foesyth, the 
Vice-President, gave the next toast, and in doing so 
spoke as follows : — 

Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, — The toast I am 
about to propose is so comprehensive, that I would 
have been better pleased, had it fallen into more able 
hands ; but before entering into any general remarks, 
I may say that large and enthusiastic as this meeting 
is, there would have been a perfect ovation of the 
whole city, had Lord Bury arrived here in summer, 
when a dinner might have been given on Durham 



170 



Terrace. But in the month of December, with the 
thermometer at 20° below zero, an out-of-doors' 
gathering is not exactly the thing ; and to give a 
cool reception on this occasion, his Lordship has seen, 
by the enthusiasm shewn in drinking his health, is 
very far from our wish or desire. Long speeches 
after dinner are, I know, too often irksome, but I will 
be as brief as possible, although going over the ground 
from Halifax to the Pacific is not to be achieved in a 
paragraph. The toast I have the honor of proposing 
is "Our Eailways and Ocean Steamers." In my 
remarks, however, I will so far review the subjects by 
speaking first of our Steam Communication with 
England and then on the Iron Koad. No one, who 
has warmly watched the effect of the large subsidy to 
the Cunard line, can remain unconvinced, that Boston 
and New York have wonderfully benefitted by these 
Steamers ; and although receipts from the postage of 
letters may pay the subsidy of the Imperial Govern- 
ment, there is no good reason why the Canadian line 
should not also receive Imperial assistance, seeing 
they would thereby be enabled to build a fleet of 
equal speed with the "Persia," and deliver their 
letters at New York by the St. Lawrence route a 
day sooner than by sailing for that port. As it is, 
the average passage of the Canadian boats is equal to 
that of the Cunard line. The St. Lawrence, with 



171 



Bayfield's Maps and with the lead going, is by no 
means the dangerous river it is represented to be : 
and though one Steamer has been lost by the, I may 
say, infatuation of the Pilot, when the Lighthouse 
was in full brilliancy before him, such a catastrophe 
ought not to be used as an argument of the danger of 
our navigation. Placed, as we are, so much nearer to 
Galway than New York, we do hope that, with the 
great advantage of our railways to the far West, the 
Galway line, in which your Lordship takes such 
interest, will not only be subsidised by the Imperial 
but by the Canadian Government, making Quebec or 
Montreal in summer, and St. Johns in winter, your 
ports of destination. I by no means look to the 
Galway line as ruinous to the Canadian Ocean Com- 
pany ; for I feel satisfied that, ere long, the whole 
emigrant traffic will be by the St. Lawrence, if the 
Grand Trunk give those facilities they propose doing ; 
and, instead of forwarding the emigrants like so 
many sheep or oxen, will study their comfort, and 
give them breathing time in their long journey from 
this to the Upper Province and the far West. On 
the inter -Colonial Eailroad I will only say that 
the importance of St. Johns in New Brunswick has 
never, in my opinion, been sufficiently estimated ; 
with one of the finest harbors in the world — always 
accessible — and, by Woodstock, not much more dis- 



172 



tant from Quebec than Portland, with only 180 miles 
from Woodstock to Trois Pistoles or Riviere du Loup; 
and with the road all completed to the Bay of Fundy 
from Woodstock, I do confess that it appears passing 
strange that the New Brunswick and Canada Rail- 
way — which, through good report and bad report, has 
steadily held on its course, and every year, and during 
times of great difficulty, built from 10 to 20 miles of 
road — should never have had that measure of assist- 
ance from the Legislature of that Province, which 
would hasten its completion to Trois Pistoles or 
Riviere du Loup. I will not take up the time 
of the company by going into any detail of the 
Northern route ; but the saving of some 300 or 400 
miles in connecting the Grand Trunk with an ocean 
terminus, is greatly in favor of the line by Woodstock ; 
and the bug-bear of running so close to the American 
boundary has no force when it is considered that 
Riviere du Loup, where the Grand Trunk now termi- 
nates, is within half a day's journey of the frontier ; 
and when it is farther borne in mind that from Cornwall 
to Kingston the river is the boundary. In case of 
war with the States, we could not place too great 
reliance on the railway, although, as a military high- 
way, it would always be more or less favorable to 
the movement of troops. Looking, therefore, to 
the Grand Trunk being extended to St. Johns as 



173 



the common-sense and most practical route, I will 
now call your attention to what is going to be the 
great fact of the present age : I mean of course, the 
Pacific Railway. The Isthmus of Darien has always 
been of great political and commercial importance. 
So long ago as the time of Sir Walter Raleigh, he 
looked to its possession as the greatest blow to Spain ; 
and it is at this moment as much coveted by the 
States, as it was in those early days by England ; and 
no one who watches the course matters are taking at 
this moment but sees that, sooner or later, it will be 
under the protectorate of the States, which consider, 
even now, that, though they may with impunity land 
troops for the protection of travellers, such a pro- 
ceeding, on the part of England, France, or Spain, 
would be a good "casus belli." Of equal importance 
is the Isthmus of Suez ; and it has always been so 
considered in both ancient and modern days. Napo- 
leon, during his stay in Egypt, was exceedingly 
anxious to construct a canal to connect the Red Sea 
with the Mediterranean. His successor, the present 
Emperor, is equally solicitous ; and by what we read 
in the newspapers, we may soon expect to see such a 
work commenced. Both Emperors looked at Egypt 
as the high road to India and China, and in the many 
complications of European politics, we know that 
England is obliged to watch them with feverish 



174 



anxiety: but let this magnificent project be fairly 
undertaken by the Imperial Government, and what 
is it to England, who owns those hitherto important 
strips of land, in what state of health the sick man 
may be, or who may be ascendant in Turkey ? What 
will it be to her who commands the overland route in 
Europe, when on this continent she has a railroad 
wholly on her own territory? A way to the East 
through America is no new idea, for in the early 
settlement of this Province by the French, a Jesuit, 
when proceeding upwards from Montreal, and seeing 
the debouche of the Ottawa Eiver, exclaimed, — 
"That is the route to China;" and hence the 
name of the spot where he was standing, is called 
Lachine, to this day. The Quebec Board of Trade 
last winter, sent a petition to the Legislature begging 
them to call on the Imperial Government to com- 
mence this great work — shewing that in the possession 
of the Island of Yancouver alone, and in lands on the 
Pacific, the means might be obtained of covering the 
expense, large as it may be ; and showing how, by 
the sale of lands, the State of Illinois has built 
a large line of railway ; but no action was taken on 
this petition, and although I wrote to many intimate 
friends, I could not get one to bring it forward. But 
what, seven or eight months ago, was thought a delu- 
sion and a dream, is, thanks to the timely discovery 



175 



of the gold fields on Frazer's River, now the leading 
topic of every paper one takes up, English, American 
or Canadian. What better use could be made of 
this great discovery, than to make it subserve to 
the construction of this Railway? and the Imperial 
Government has in its hands this new Colony, which 
under proper management would defray the whole 
cost. Taking Pembroke on the Ottawa, or Peterboro' 
on the Trent, as the starting point, we will have 
2500 to 3000 miles to the Pacific, and allowing 
£8000 stg. ^ mile, the whole cost would be twenty- 
four millions sterling, a large sum indeed; — but when 
one remembers that by the overland route to India 
every soldier costs £100, and that this is becoming 
the favourite way of sending troops : and when one 
thinks of the great saving that would have been made 
by the Imperial and Indian Governments during the 
last twelve months, had Calcutta been within 30 to 
35 days' journey from London, by a road over which 
troops and munitions of war could have been sent to 
any extent, one is at once convinced that the saving 
alone would have gone far in making the whole road. 
Montalembert's eloquent appeal has made him a name 
in every quarter of the globe ; and so far, I am sure, 
his appeal will find favor in the eyes of both Houses 
of Parliament ; but there is one part I want to men- 
tion, which is full of significance, and bears strongly on 



176 



the subject— I allude to that pertaining to the future 
of England, and pointing out the danger she is 
exposed to from the despotic powers of Europe ; if 
that day should come, which God forbid, that this 
bulwark of liberty should be invaded — > 

" If the blast of war be blown in her ears," 

of what mighty import would this road be when a 
quarter of a million of troops from India could stand 
shoulder to shoulder on English ground with her 
defenders ! Would not such a road, built altogether 
on British territory, be of more importance to England 
than the overland route by India, with hostile fleets, 
at every point, and perhaps Egypt in hostile hands, 
while here we could concentrate the whole navy at 
the Home, the Halifax, and the Pacific stations? 
The times are singularly propitious, for we have Earl 
Derby, and his gifted son, Lord Stanley, who have 
been in Canada, and know and appreciate it well ; 
we have Sir J ohn Packington, who also was over the 
whole Province; and though it has been the wish of 
some to represent him as hostile to our roads, from 
some unfortunate misunderstanding with Mr. Hincks, 
he, I know, is personally most anxious to forward 
every Canadian enterprise. When I last saw him in 
London, he declared to me his anxiety to do all in his 
power to aid our railways. In the Colonial Secretary 
we have one who will glory in associating his name 



177 



with this magnificent project, which will virtually 
make these Provinces no longer outsiders, but incor- 
porate them with the nation ; and we look to you, 
my Lord, as the pioneer in the Lower House, while 
in Lord Elgin we have a kind friend in the Upper. 
Brilliant as has been his embassy to China and Japan, 
his mission is not yet finished ; and he, who had much 
to do in co-operation with Mr. Hincks in giving us a 
line of railway from one end of the province to the 
other, must give a helping hand to continue it to the 
Pacific ; and I know nothing that will make the 
inhabitants of China and Japan entertain respect for 
us more than seeing steamers daily plying between 
Victoria and their respective countries. Canada has 
not only most powerful advocates in both Houses of 
Parliament, but she is singularly represented at the 
Horse Guards, — Sir C. Yorke, Sir R. Airey, and Sir 
Gr. Wetherall being all Canadians in feeling, — and we 
know that military authorities have a great deal to 
say on all points connected with such national under- 
takings. We have also powerful advocates in the 
fourth estate, as the editor of the Times was here a 
couple of years ago; and this very summer Charles 
Mackay, of the Illustrated News, in this room 
pledged himself, when opportunity offered, to give a 
helping hand to this great work. Chinese labour 
could at once be made available, and when one con«\ 

N 



178 



siders the difficulty that must force itself on the rulers 
of India in the sullen and disarmed Sepoy, requiring 
to be watched equally with him who has arms in his 
hands, what a solution of the difficulty arises from the 
ease with which they may be employed as railway 
laborers ! It is only politically I have been speaking 
of this great road, which if undertaken by England 
without any reference to the States, will become their 
line as well as ours ; for no one in England would 
give a sixpence to form an American line to compete 
with the road made by the English nation. By all 
means let us give free use to the Americans for their 
traffic to California and the East, but let it be solely, 
entirely, and absolutely a British road, under British 
control ; and such will be its importance that it will 
be the best guarantee for lasting peace, when the 
States know it will be protected by the whole force 
of the Empire, and by troops simultaneously from the 
west and from the east. When one reflects that every 
port on both sides of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario 
would become an emporium of trade for the Atlantic 
board, and be forwarded to and from these ports to 
California and India by railway ; and when one thinks 
of the importance that would attach to Quebec, Mon- 
treal, Halifax and St. Johns, we cannot over-estimate 
the benefits to this part of the Continent. But, large 
as they are, they pale before the fact that London,, 



179 



Liverpool and Manchester would be within a few 
weeks of the whole Pacific; and the advantages to 
England surpass, in the language of the author of 
Vivian Grey, "the crude conceptions of a dream." 
Canada without Imperial aid has done much in begins 
ning this great chain of communication. Let us hope 
England will decide at once that the road shall be 
built ; give it out for immediate contract to the great 
capitalists of Great Britain, pledging the gold fields 
on Frazer's River as the consideration : but let it be 
done while New Caledonia belongs to the empire, 
and before she has a busy population to thwart this 
magnificent enterprise. Let the rulers in England 
recollect that the surveying of the line to Halifax, ex- 
cellent though it may be, required as long a period as 
was actually consumed in making the road from Lake 
Huron to Quebec, taking the distance into account. 
Let this road therefore be offered at once to public 
tender, at so much a mile, and with the gold fields 
and Vancouver's Island as the lever, the men and 
means can soon be found in London to undertake the 
whole, giving the government the right of passage for 
mails, troops and munitions* of war, without any direct 
charge for the same. Some short time ago we 
entertained the "Hero of Kars," and all honor to him 
and others, who like him and the gallant soldier * on . 

* Col. Monroe, C.B., of the 39th Regiment, . 
n2 



180 



your left, and others who have "proudly dared" in 
fighting the battles of our country ; but laurels are to 
be won by you and by others in the British parlia- 
ment, no less than by you, Mr, Mayor, and those 
around me, in our own Legislature, who will be the 
pioneers of this great conquest of the desert, making 
it smile as the rose. I was called sanguine when I 
had the honor, at a large meeting, to move the first 
resolution of the Quebec and Richmond railway. I 
was called sanguine when, at a most stormy meeting 
in the City Hall, I also moved the first resolution of 
the road to Trois Pistoles, and prognosticated its 
speedy fulfilment ; and I have no doubt I will be 
now called sanguine when I state my deliberate con- 
viction that this great project will soon take such 
hold of the English mind that Her Gracious Majesty, 
or the Heir Apparent to the throne, will, in obedience 
to the wishes of Her subjects at home, no less than 
of these colonies, cross the Atlantic, not only to be 
welcomed to this, the brightest appanage of the 
British Crown ; but to turn the first sod of that great 
iron road which will, as it were, bind the British and 
Indian Empires by bonds of iron. But, strong as 
these bonds may be, they will yield in strength to 
those bonds of love and affection felt for her in these 
colonies, which now are, as I hope they ever will be, 
" strong as a rock of adamant." With three times 



181 



three I call on you to drink the toast I have the honor 
to offer — " Our Railways and Ocean Steamers." 



Note. — A Pamphlet, entitled Nova Britannia, published in 
Montreal, by A. Morris, Esquire, A.M., in 1858, contains soma 
most valuable information on this subjeete 




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